IF 


.     \ 


V\A 


LIBRARY 

OF    THE 

Theological    Seminary, 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 

BX    9941     .M66    1841 
Cw     Moore,    Asher,    1810-1891 
Shelf    U^i^^^salist   belief 


I 


-  Book 


4 


? 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2009  witii  funding  from 

Princeton  Tlieological  Seminary  Library 


littp://www.arcli  ive.org/details/universalistbeliOOmoor 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF 


OR  THE 


DOCTRINAL   VIEWS 


OF 


UNIVERSALISTS 


BY    ASHER    iMOORE 


^l)iUtielpMa: 
GIHON,    FAIRCHILD    &   CO 

ISil. 


[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1811,  by  Gihon, 
Fairchild  &  Co.,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  Of  the  District  Court  of  the 
United  Stales  in  and  for  the  Eastorn  District  of  Pennsylvania.] 


Gmoisr,  Fairchild  &  Co.,  Printkrs, 
youth  East  Corner  of  Seventh  and  Market  Streets. 


CONTENTS 


Preface,     .            .             -             -             . 

5 

Introduction,    .... 

1 

The  Existence  of  God, 

.      13 

The  Providence  of  God, 

21 

Reasons  of  Belief, 

-      32 

Inspiration  and  Truth  of  the  Bible, 

44 

Causes  of  Skeptical  Objections, 

.      52 

The  Nature  and  Attributes  of  God, 

60 

Design  in  the  Creation  of  Man,      . 

.      73 

Paternity  of  God, 

85 

The  Will  of  God,   . 

-    Ill 

Atonement,       -             .             .             - 

136 

Repentance, 

.    159 

Forgiveness,      .... 

175 

Rewards  and  Punishments, 

.    182 

The  Resurrection, 

200 

PREFACE. 

It  has  been  said  by  a  wise  man,  that  ♦'  of 
making  books  there  is  no  end."  And  the  author 
of  the  following  pages  may  well  say  in  the 
clumsy  language  of  Bunyan's  Apology, 

"  When  at  the  first  I  took  my  pen  in  hand, 
Tlius  for  to  write,  I  did  not  understand 
That  I  at  all  should  make  a  little  book 
In  such  a  mode." 

My  first  intention  was  merely  to  furnish  a 
series  of  newspaper  articles,  giving  the  principal 
reasons  and  proofs  of  the  Universalist's  faith. 
But  in  an  early  stage  of  this  labor,  and  at  the 
suo"o-estion  of  a  friend,  I  determined  to  extend 
the  original  plan,  and  to  bring  together  a  suffi- 
ciency of  matter  to  compose  a  small  volume. 
And  I  cannot  but  regret  that  the  limits  of  this 
book  obliged  me  to  be  too  brief  in  the  considera- 
tion of  several  important  points  of  doctrine,  and 
to  omit  entirely  some  others  that  seemed  to  de- 
mand attention.  It  was  designed  that  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Trinity  should  be  introduced  and 
examined  at  considerable  length ;  but  it  was  soon 
perceived  that  the  entire  plan  could  not  be  exe- 
cuted within  the  limits  prescribed ;  and  it  was 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

thought  that  this  particular  topic  could  be  omit- 
ted with  as  much  propriety  as  any  other.  It  is 
believed  that  a  tolerable  connexion  is  preserved 
without  it ;  and  perhaps  if  it  had  occupied  a  few 
chapters,  the  value  of  the  work  would  not  have 
been  materially  enhanced. 

Most  of  the  following  chapters  have  appeared 
in  successive  numbers  of  the  "  Nazarene," 
from  which  they  were  transferred  into  the  form 
of  a  book.  And,  considering  the  manner  in 
which  they  were  written  and  published,  it  is 
hoped  that  the  reader  will  make  suitable  allow- 
ances for  the  length  of  some  of  the  chapters, 
and  also  for  whatever  want  of  connexion  may 
be  desirable.  If  the  entire  work  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  press  before  any  part  was  lodged 
with  the  printer,  it  is  quite  possible  that  it  would 
have  appeared  with  fewer  faults  than  will  now 
be  detected.  The  book,  however,  will  not  pre- 
tend to  abide  unharmed  the  searching  glance  of 
the  critic.  It  is  designed  to  make  known  to 
such  as  need  the  information,  what  Universalists 
believe,  and  ivhy  they  believe.  And  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  tend,  in  some  small  degree,  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  necessary  object,  and 
Willi  fervent  prayers  that  the  blessing  of  God 
may  attend  it  wherever  it  shall  go,  it  is  humbly 
submitted  bv  a  servant  and  lover  of  man. 


INTRODUCTION 


The  object  of  this  work  is  to  give  a  brief  state- 
ment of  the  principal  articles  of  Universalist 
belief,  and  of  the  reasons  by  which  they  are  sup- 
ported. I  am  well  aware  that  this  labor  has 
been  repeatedly  performed,  and  far  more  ably 
than  the  reader  has  any  good  reason  to  suppose 
that  it  will  now  be  executed.  But  I  write  chiefly 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  yet  unacquainted 
with  the  doctrine  of  Universalism,  and  its  unan- 
swerable proofs.  There  are  manj^  such  scattered 
throughout  the  land;  and  we  have  reason  to 
hope  that  the  present  undertaking  may  be  the 
means  of  enlightening  some  minds,  which  might 
otherwise  still  remain  in  ignorance  of  what  we 
really  believe.  This  unpretending  little  volume 
may  reach  some  places  where  but  few,  perhaps 
none  of  our  numerous  publications  have  ever 
been  known.  And  it  is  possible  that  it  may 
contain  matter  entirely  new  to  some  who  shall 
read  it,  and  become  the  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  God  of  leading  them  into  the  enjoyment  of 
that  blessed  Gospel,  which  is  "  glad  tidings  of 
great  joy,  that  shall  be  to  all  people." 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

It  may  also  be  observed  that  new  converts  are 
constantly  coming  into  our  churches  ;  and  we 
may  suppose  that  they  are  desirous  to  obtain  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  grounds  of  our  faith, 
and  to  be  more  fully  instructed  in  the  way  of 
life  and  salvation.     And  to  such,  we  trust,  our 
present  labor  will  be  acceptable.     The  power  of 
prejudice  is  not  easily  broken  ;  and  after  a  man 
has  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  divine 
truth,  he   may  be  unable  to   divest  himself  at 
once  of  the  influence  of  prepossession.     We  are 
so  much  the  creatures  of  education  and  habit 
that  strono^  and  vijrorous  efforts  are  needed  to 
free  us  from  the  errors  of  early  years.     Some  of 
the  early  disciples  of  Jesus,  having  before  been 
Jev/s,  "  taught  the  brethren,  and  jaid.  Except 
ye  be  circumcised  after  the  mansfer  of  Moses, 
ye  cannot  be  saved."   There  are  persons  among 
us  who  have  little  knowledge  of  our  doctrine, 
any  farther  than  to  feel  convinced  of  the  fact  that 
all   mankind   will   be   finally   blessed  in  Jesus 
Christ.     They   do   not  understand   the   whole 
foundation  of  this  blessed  faith,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  proceed  understandingly  from  the  first   prin- 
ciples of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  to  the  ultimate 
results  of  God's  economy  in   the  moral  govern- 
ment of  his  intelligent  creation.     And  they  may 
be  profited  even  by  an  imperfect  statement  and 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

feeble  defence  of  our  peculiar  views  on  the  ge- 
neral subject  of  Christian  Theology.  Nay,  such 
as  are  well  instructed,  in  these  matters,  may 
strengthen  their  faith  and  confirm  their  hopes, 
and  be  better  prepared  to  answer  the  inquiring 
and  confound  the  perverse,  by  a  renewed  exami- 
nation of  the  grounds  and  the  reasons  of  our 
faith. 

There  are  many  persons  in  this  community 
who  are  favorably  impressed  with  Universalism, 
but  who  are  almost  entirely  ignorant  of  every 
truth  peculiar  to  this  system  of  doctrine.  Their 
habits  of  thought  are  all  opposed,  but  the  feel- 
ings and  desires  of  their  hearts  are  in  its  favor. 
They  are  shocked  with  the  merciless  horrors  of 
the  doctrines  which  they  hear  in  their  own 
churches,  and  always  pleased  and  comforted 
when  they  hear  anything  like  that  Gospel, 
which  is  "  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  that  shall 
be  to  all  people."  They  are  feeling  after  "  a 
more  excellent  way,"  and  panting  for  the  waters 
of  life.  They  are  worthy  of  the  true  bread  of 
God,  that  cometh  down  from  heaven  and  giveth 
life  unto  the  world.  And  if  they  could  only  be 
brought  to  see  the  errors  which  they  have  been 
taught,  and  to  understand  that  the  Gospel  re- 
veals the  great  and  successful  plan  of  universal 
redemption  from  sin  and  death,  they  would  em- 
brace the   whole    truth  of  God  with  rejoicing 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

spirits.  They  are,  in  their  hearts,  inquirers 
after  Universalism ;  though  they  may  not  take 
the  proper  steps  to  obtain  an  acquaintance  with 
this  doctrine.  They  are  subject  to  many  re- 
straints, and  do  not  feel  free  to  attend  our 
churches  and  hear  our  preaching.  But  they  will- 
nevertheless  read  when  they  find  opportunity. 
And  we  can  reach  at  least  some  of  them  through 
the  medium  of  the  press,  when  we  could  not 
gain  access  to  them  in  any  other  way.  The 
silent  messenger  will  go  where  the  speaking 
witness  cannot  be  heard.  And  in  the  present 
state  of  society  we  are  required  to  avail  ourselves 
of  every  opportunity  to  shed  abroad  the  light 
and  the  knowledge  of  God's  truth. 

Other  reasons  might  be  presented  to  justify 
our  repeated  attempts  to  explain  what  we  be- 
lieve. We  are  falsely  accused.  Our  opposers 
have  long  pursued  the  unfair  policy  of  imputing 
to  us  doctrines  which  we  never  advocated  nor 
believed.  Many  honest  people  believe  these 
slanderous  reports;  and,  without  any  knowledge 
of  Universalism,  they  feel  that  they  would  be 
guilty  of  a  high  offence  against  God,  if  they 
were  to  enter  our  places  of  public  devotion,  and 
obey  the  injunction  of  Paul,  to  "prove  all  things." 
They  condemn  us  unheard ;  and  persecute  us — 
they  know  not  why.  What  have  we  ever  done 
that  we  are  thus  dreaded  and  shunned  ?     Have 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

we  ever  laid  violent  hands  upon  the  ark  of  the 
Christian  covenant  ?  Have  we  ever  trodden  un- 
der foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  accounted  the  blood 
of  the  everlasting  covenant  an  unclean  thing  ? 
Have  we  sought  to  remove  the  foundations  of 
Christian  hope,  or  to  take  from  the  afflicted  and 
dying  the  support  and  comforts  of  religion  ? 
Have  we  endeavored  to  subvert  the  peace  and 
good  order  of  society,  and  to  induce  sinful  man 
to  cast  off  fear  and  restrain  prayer  ?  What  have 
we  done  ?  Reader,  the  whole  sum  and  substance 
of  our  offence  is,  that  we  have  avowed  our 
"  trust  in  the  living  God,  tvho  is  the  Savior  of 
all  men,  specially  of  those  that  believe." 

We  are  sorry  to  say  that  we  do  not  expect 
any  thing  like  justice  at  the  hands  of  our  deter- 
mined and  violent  opposers.  They  never  present 
our  doctrine  in  its  true  light  before  the  people. 
There  is  nothing  in  what  we  really  believe  to 
shook  the  feelings  of  any  man  who  has  ever  felt 
the  influence  of  Christian  truth.  We  should  not  be 
despised  by  any  man  who  is  worthy  to  be  called 
a  follower  of  Christ,  if  our  doctrine  were  well 
understood.  They  who  know  the  least  of  our 
faith  are  the  most  bitter  in  their  opposition. 
And  the  policy  of  our  adversaries  has  ever  been 
to  misrepresent  our  views,  and  thus  keep  the 
people  in  ignorance  of  what  we  do  believe  and 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

teach.  We  are  classed  with  Deists  and  Infidels, 
and  denied  the  evangelical  name.  And  in  order 
to  sustain  these  false  imputations,  we  have  been 
accused  of  being  the  enemies  of  vital  religion, 
and  our  doctrine  has  been  subjected  to  every 
species  of  misrepresentation  that  the  cunning 
and  craft  of  our  foes  have  been  able  to  invent. 

The  task  of  defence  is  required  at  our  hands. 
If  the  public  are  ever  made  acquainted  with  our 
faith,  it  will  be  through  our  own  means.  And 
though  we  have  not  the  vanity  to  expect,  nor 
any  reason  to  hope,  that  every  body  will  be 
eager  to  read  what  we  write,  we  do  believe  that 
every  effort  that  we  make  to  explain  our  doctrine 
is  attended  with  desirable  results.  Some  few 
are  thus  enlightened  by  every  succeeding  effort, 
while  a  still  greater  number  are  made  to  think 
more  favorably  of  that  "  sect  which  every  where 
is  spoken  against."  AVe  feel  obliged  to  be  pa- 
tient and  persevering.  But  while  we  "  bear  all 
things,"we  feel  encouraged  to  "hope  all  things." 
Though  false  charges  against  us  are  repeated 
after  they  have  been  triumphantly  refuted,  we 
are  willing  to  travel  over  the  same  ground  again. 
And,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  we  shall  continue 
our  exertions  until  all  wrong  impressions  are 
corrected,  and  the  truth  of  the  living  God  is 
known  and  enjoyed  in  its  fulness. 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  EXISTENCE  OF  GOD. 

The  foundation  of  all  religious  truth  is  the  ex- 
istence  of  God.  This  fundamental  principle  of 
reason  and  of  revelation  supports  the  entire  su- 
perstructure of  Universalist  belief.  And  though 
some  of  ouv  dishonorable  opponents  have  endea- 
vored to  persuade  the  world  that  we  are  thorough 
skeptics,  we  have  never  supposed  that  they  them- 
selves consider  this  imputation  honest  and  just. 
They  knoiv^  if  indeed  they  know  any  thing  of 
our  belief,  that  this  charge  is  both  false  and  ma- 
licious. And  if  we  were  to  bring  any  such  "rail- 
ing accusation"  against  them,  they  would  be 
justified  in  pronouncing  us  any  thing  but  honest 
men  and  lovers  of  truth  !  But  for  the  honor  of 
humanity  and  religion,  we  trust  that  there  are  but 
few  persons  to  be  found  who  are  base  enough  to 
give  utterance  to  such  wicked  and  diabcJical 
2 


14  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

slander  !  Certainly  no  denomination  under  hea- 
ven would  sanction  such  an  outrage  upon  all  that 
is  worthy  and  of  good  report.  We  speak  of  the 
sin  of  a  few  individuals  of  "the  baser  sort" — of 
men  whose  conduct  would  be  a  reproach  to  "  the 
father  of  lies,"  and  who  do  despite  to  human  na- 
ture !  We  have  no  patience  with  such  men ; 
and  if  they  cannot  be  brought  to  some  faint  sense 
of  common  justice  and  honesty,  they  ought  at 
least  to  be  held  up  to  the  righteous  indignation 
of  every  virtuous  mind.  We  censure  no  man 
for  his  errors  of  faith.  We  ask  none  to  believe 
our  doctrine  without  sufficient  evidence  of  its 
truth.  But  we  have  a  right  to  demand  of  all? 
and  especially  of  such  as  profess  to  be  religious 
men,  something  like  honest  and  fair  dealing. 

In  view  of  the  innumerable  and  irrefragable 
proofs  every  where  discernible  of  the  Creator's 
works,  it  would  seem  impossible  that  any  sane 
mind  should  really  deny  the  existence  of  that  Al- 
mighty Power  which  is  the  source  of  life  and 
the  soul  of  the  universe  !  In  every  department 
of  nature  we  plainly  behold  the  most  evident 
marks  of  design  and  contrivance.  And  the  com- 
mon reason  of  man  declares  that  wherever  these 
marks  are  certainly  found,  there  must  have  been 
a  designer  and  contriver.     No   axiom  of  the 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  15 

most  simple  and  intelligible  philosophy  is  more 
fully  established  and  more  entirely  free  from  eve- 
ry possible  cavil,  than  that  no  effect  can  in  any 
case  be  produced  independently  of  an  adequate 
cause.  We  are  well  aware  that  this  statement 
is  not  new  ;  but  though  quite  familiar  to  us  all, 
its  truth  has  never  been  invalidated  either  by  the 
powers  of  sound  reasoning  or  the  arts  of  sophis- 
try. And  so  clearly  self-evident  is  this  proposi- 
tion, that  no  man  endued  with  the  faculties  com- 
mon to  our  race,  could  be  persuaded  to  believe 
that  a  nicely-constructed  machine,  in  which  the 
evidences  of  skill  and  design  are  plainly  and 
strongly  exhibited,  created  itself  and  continues  to 
operate  by  its  own  inherent  powers.  Any  man, 
whatever  might  be  his  belief  and  peculiar  habits 
of  thought,  upon  beholding  such  a  piece  of  me- 
chanism, though  he  might  know  nothing  of  the 
mechanic,  would  be  sure  that  the  hand  of  awork- 
man  had  there  been  exercised. 

Now  we  would  not  harshly  condemn  the  un- 
fortunate skeptic  ;  nor  deny  to  him  that  honesty 
and  sincerity  of  heart  in  the  advocacy  of  his 
opinions,  to  which  he  may  be  justly  entitled. 
Such  railing  may  in  some  instances  proceed  from 
earnestness  of  spirit  in  the  cause  of  truth;  but  it 
furnishes  no  argument,  and  is  unworthy  of  any 


16  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

man's  notice.  But  we  desire  that  the  skeptic 
would  reason  concerning  the  works  of  God  just 
as  we  all  do  in  regard  to  the  works  of  man  ;  and 
wherever  there  are  indisputable  proofs  of  wisdom 
and  power,  candidly  admit  that  there  must  have 
been  a  wise  and  powerful  agent  employed. 

Is  not  this  course  sanctioned  by  reason  ?  And 
who  ever  doubted  that  the  works  of  Nature, 
from  the  smallest  spire  of  grass  that  shoots  from 
the  earth,  up  to  the  vast  worlds  and  systems  of 
worlds  that  revolve  in  the  immensity  of  space, 
exhibit  the  most  striking  and  forcible  proofs  of 
loisdom  and  design  f  The  simple  fact  is  uni- 
versally admitted  ;  and  if  doubted,  could  be  sub- 
stantiated by  an  array  of  proof  sufficient  to  con- 
vince every  mind,  capable  of  perceiving  the 
force  of  an  argument,  and  candid  enough  to  ac- 
knowledge the  convictions  of  the  understanding. 

Behold  the  perfect  order  and  regularity  with 
which  the  heavenly  bodies  perform  their  appoint- 
ed revolutions  ;  and  see  the  wisdom  displayed  in 
all  the  arrangements  and  economy  of  nature,  and 
in  the  careful  adaptation  of  means  to  certain  and 
benevolent  ends.  And  what  but  Infinite  Wisdom 
could  have  suspended  the  sun  in  the  firmament 
to  dispense  light  and  heat  to  surrounding  worlds 
— fixed  the  planets  in  their  courses — marked  out 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  17 

the  track  of  the  comet — and  set  the  whole  ma- 
chinery of  the  heavens  in  such  perfect  motion 
that  one  body  never  disturbs  the  movements  of 
another,  and  even  the  time  of  a  distant  eclipse 
may  be  foretold  by  man  ?  What  but  a  designing 
hand  could  have  placed  every  creature  in  that 
particular  sphere  of  life  for  which  its  own  pecu- 
liar nature  is  best  suited — conferred  the  neces- 
sary powers,  and  furnished  all  the  means  and 
provisions  for  the  support  of  life  and  the  attain- 
ment of  happiness  ?  AVho  but  a  skilful  work- 
man could  have  constructed  our  bodies  in  all 
their  fearful  and  wonderful  mechanism,  and  en- 
dued us  with  all  the  senses  and  faculties  that  we 
possess  ?  And  in  view  of  all  these  things,  may  we 
not  well  pause,  and  exclaim  with  pleasing  won- 
der and  joy,  in  the  language  of  the  devout  Psalm- 
ist— "  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  He  not  hear? 
and  he  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  He  not  see  ?" 

It  may  indeed  be  affirmed  that  all  things  were 
produced  and  are  regulated  and  controlled  by  the 
laius  of  nature.  But  this  assertion  only  provokes 
a  question  that  demands  attention.  What  is 
here  meant  by  nature  ?  Does  it  mean  the  rw«- 
ferials  of  which  the  planets  and  the  world  are 
composed — the  simple  elementary  principles  of 
all  things  ?     If  this  be  the  meaning,  the  conclu- 


18  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

sion  unavoidably  follows  that  nature  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  matter.  And  what  are  the 
laws  of  matter?  Every  man  who  has  reflected 
on  this  subject  will  answer  that  one  great  and 
pervading  law  of  matter  is  inertia,  or  the  inca- 
pability of  motion,  until  some  power  is  applied 
to  give  it  the  force  of  action.  And  we  think 
every  skeptic  will  readily  admit  that  life  and  mo- 
tion are  not  original  and  independent  qualities  of 
inanimate  matter,  but  will  contend  that  they  are 
the  effect  of  organization. 

The  reader  can  now  see  the  subject  in  a  tan- 
gible form,  and  understand  the  bearings  and  force 
of  the  whole  argument.  Matter  is  inert,  and 
life  is  the  result  of  some  particular  combination 
of  matter.  The  question  now  to  be  decided,  is, 
what  power  brought  matter  into  that  state  of  or- 
ganization necessary  to  constitute  being,  and  in- 
spired it  with  life  and  motion?  For  no  such 
power  is  found  in  j/norganized  matter  ;  and  sure- 
ly none  will  be  so  perversely  unreasonable  as  to 
suppose  that  mere  matter  could  confer  that  which 
it  never  possessed !  And  if  by  some  strange 
and  fortunate  freak  of  blind  chance,  matter 
should  exert  a  power  which  it  never  possessed, 
and  succeed  in  effecting  an  organization,  it  might 
be  questioned  whether  life  would  be  the  necessa- 
ry result. 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  J 9 

But  let  us  be  accommodating,  and  even  sup- 
pose that  matter  could  confer  life.  Whence 
came  beings  possessing  the  faculties  of  thought, 
reason,  will  and  memory  ?  Are  these  the  pro- 
ductions of  an  unknowiiig,  unthinking,  unwil- 
ling cause  ?  The  proposition  is  too  manifestly 
absurd  and  opposed  to  every  principle  of  reason 
and  common  sense  to  require  refutation.  And 
if,  to  avoid  the  difficulty,  it  be  asserted  that  mat- 
ter is  intelligent,  (which  is  certainly  not  true,) 
we  have  only  to  say  that  intelligence  constitutes 
being;  and  an  intelligent  Being  is  the  great 
First  Cause  in  which  we  believe. 

It  is  therefore  plainly  perceived  that  however 
remotely  we  may  trace  the  causes  of  existing 
things,  and  whatever  curious  theories  we  may 
conceive,  we  must  ultimately  arrive  at  the  con- 
clusion, that  there  was  before  all  things,  an  Intel- 
ligent life-giving  Cause.  The  skill  and  design 
manifest  in  the  works  of  creation,  the  order  and 
harmony  of  the  Universe,  and  the  wise  and  per- 
fect adaptation  of  one  thing  to  another,  and  of 
means  to  ends,  can  be  rationally  and  satisfacto- 
rily accounted  for  in  no  other  way.  This  great 
Cause  we  call  God — leaving  others  to  denomi- 
nate it  what  they  please.  If  any  choose  to  call 
\i  nature,  or  the  laws  of  nature,  we  shall  neithey 


20  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

dispute  their  right  nor  question  their  motives. 
And,  indeed,  we  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
whole  controversy  is  rather  about  ivords  than 
ideas  :  for  it  seems  impossible  for  the  mind  to 
believe,  notwithstanding  "  \hefool  hath  said  in 
his  heart,  there  is  no  God,"  that  any  sane  man 
is  actually  an  Atheist  ! 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD. 

Both  reason  and  Scripture  declare  that  all 
creatures  owe  their  existence  to  the  same  Su- 
preme Power.  And  whatever  explanations  may- 
be proposed  in  regard  to  the  things  that  exist 
and  happen  in  the  world,  the  enquiring  mind 
can  never  rest  satisfied  until  the  great  truth  is 
well  understood  that  God  governs  all  worlds 
and  controls  every  event.  The  superficial 
thinker,  with  more  reverence  than  reason,  star- 
tles at  the  declaration  that  C4od  is  the  Creator 
and  Director  of  all  things  ;  and  with  feelings  of 
profound  awe,  aims  to  vindicate  the  character  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  by  utterly  denying  the  uni- 
versal extent  of  his  Providence.  But  every 
such  attempt  is  sure  to  result  in  conclusions 
alike  dishonorable  to  God,  and  unsatisfactory  to 
the  sober  mind  that  thinks  deeply,  and  will  re- 
ceive no  substitute  for  consistent  truth.  Has 
God  created  beings  that  he  cannot,  or  will  not 
govern  according  to  the  determinations  of  his 
own  will?     Can  any  event  happen   throughout 


22  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF, 

the  vast  extent  of  his  unbounded  empire,  with- 
out his  permission,  and  without  his  unerring 
knowledge  of  what  shall  be  the  consequence? 
Are  there  any  limits  to  his  watchful  care  and 
his  unclouded  vision  ?  And,  in  the  exercise  of 
his  unrivalled  power,  what  can  disturb  the  har- 
mony of  his  works,  or  in  the  smallest  degree 
baffle  "  the  operation  of  his  hands  ?"  How  pure 
soever  may  be  the  intentions  of  the  man  who 
denies  the  full  and  perfect  providence  of  God 
over  every  event,  such  denial,  if  well  consider- 
ed, will  be  found  to  lead  to  conclusions  that  be- 
long to  the  Atheist's  creed !  When  once  this 
limitation  of  God's  superintending  wisdom  and 
power  is  sanctioned,  no  man  can  tell  where  it 
shall  end ! 

The  ancient  Persians  believed  in  the  exist- 
ence of  two  creative  and  governing  powers  ; 
the  one  the  source  of  all  light  and  good,  and  the 
other  the  author  of  all  darkness  and  evil.  This 
doctrine  was  introduced  into  the  Christian 
Church  and  blended  with  the  religion  of  Christ, 
by  one  Cubricus,  otherwise  called  Manes,  in  the 
third  century — and  seems  still  to  be  advocated 
by  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  Christian 
world.  It  may  not  be  held  in  these  days  in  the 
same  form  in  which  it  used  to  exist;  but  the  doc- 
trine itself,  though  denied  in  name,  still  has  a  be- 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  23 

ing  in  Christendom.  And  the  belief  very  ex- 
tensively prevails  that  there  is  in  the  universe  a 
mighty  being  who  is  the  author  of  all  evil, 
ivhose  kingdom  is  erected  in  opposition  to  that 
of  the  Almighty,  and  who  will  finally  succeed 
in  securing  to  himself  a  large  portion  of  the  off- 
spring of  God  ! 

This  doctrine  is  believed  on  the  supposed 
ground  that  there  is  in  the  universe,  absolute, 
ultimate  evil,  which  never  could  have  been  crea- 
ted by  a  good  Being.  It  is  thought  to  be  esta- 
blished by  the  very  necessity  of  the  case :  For 
nothing  could  be  more  inconsistent  or  paradoxi- 
cal than  the  supposition  that  real  and  endless 
evil  should  proceed  from  the  very  fountain  of  all 
goodness  !  The  conclusion  is  undoubtedly  cor- 
rect; hut  the  premises  from  which  it  is  drawn 
find  no  support  in  reason  and  truth. 

When  we  direct  our  attention  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, we  are  taught  that  there  is  but  one  Crea- 
tor ;  and  that  all  things  have  proceeded  from  a 
common  source.  There  is  one  Being  in  the 
universe  whose  existence  is  from  eternity.  He 
was  before  every  other  being  and  all  events,  and 
is  the  original  Cause  of  all  thinofs. 

"  Ere  the  infant  sun 
Was  rolled  together,  or  had  tried  his  beams 
Athwart  the  gloom  profouad,' 


24  UMVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

He  lived  in  the  perfection  of  his  nature,  with  no 
rival  power  to  intercept  the  exercise  of  his  om- 
nipotence !  The  earth  was  moulded  by  his  skill, 
inhabited  by  his  power,  and  man  inspired  with 
life  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth  !  No  other 
agent  is  named  in  the  record  of  creation.  God 
created,  and  He  alone.  He  said,  *'  Let  there  be 
light;  and  there  was  light."  "i^e  spake,  and 
it  was  done  ;  He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 
And  as  to  the  existence  of  that  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  produced  by  another  and  far 
different  power,  we  find  that  its  creation  is  as- 
cribed to  God.  It  is  written,  Isaiah  xlv.  7,  "/ 
form  the  light,  and  create  darkness:  I  make 
peace  and  create  evil:  I  the  Lord  do  all  these 
things.''^  The  same  Power  that  commanded 
the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  covers  the 
earth  with  the  mantle  of  night.  And  He  that 
speaks  peace  to  the  troubled  elements  of  nature, 
raises  the  whirlwind  and  the  storm,  and  scatters 
the  blight  of  mildew  and  death  over  the  face  of 
creation !  He  hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh, 
and  transformed  the  murderous  Saul  into  a  mes- 
senger of  glad  tidings  and  peace.  He  blinded 
the  eyes  of  Israel  that  they  should  not  know  the 
Messiah  promised  their  fathers,  and  granted  the 
light  of  the  Gospel  to  the  benighted  Gentiles, 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF 


25 


He  caused  the  law  to  enter  that  transgression 
might  abound,  and  that  grace  might  much  more 
abound,  even  unto  eternal  life  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord.  And  he  has  concluded  all  men 
in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all ! 

Creative  power  belongs  to  God  alone.  And 
whatever  exists  or  happens  is  caused  either  di- 
rectly or  remotely  by  him  ;  or  at  least  permitted 
by  his  wisdom  for  some  good  purpose.  That 
the  entire  race  of  mankind  have  been  produced 
hy  his  omnific  energies,  none  will  attempt  to 
deny.  If  one  man  could  come  into  existence 
without  his  agency,  all  things  might  exist  inde- 
pendently of  his  power.  But  all  believe,  because 
there  is  no  room  for  any  diversity  of  sentiment,that 
the  Deity  is  "the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh," 
and  the  Father  of  all  men.  We  may,  however, 
proceed  still  farther,  and  say  that  all  things  af- 
fecting the  interests  of  man,  are  subject  to  the 
perfect  and  supreme  control  of  God.  And  this 
fact,  although  many  pretend  to  deny  it,  necessa- 
rily results  from  the  supposition  that  evil  is 
caused  by  beings  whom  God  has  created ! 

We  would  not  be  understood  to  affirm  that 
God  is  the  direct  or  immediate  cause  of  any  of 
the  apparent  disorders  of  the  world ;  but  mere- 
ly that  all  things,  when  traced  through  secohda- 
3 


26  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

ry  causes  up  to  their  first  origin,  will  be  foun(i 
to  proceed  from  Him.  And  what  say  the  Scrip- 
tures ?  "  Shall  there  be  evil  in  a  city,  and  the 
Lord  hath  not  done  it?^^  Amos  iii.  6.  No 
evil  proceeds  directly  from  God,  who  is  the 
source  and  perfection  of  goodness.  But  he  per- 
mits evils  to  exist  in  the  world,  not  that  an  ulti- 
mate injury  may  thereby  be  inflicted  upon  a  por- 
tion of  his  creatures,  and  the  harmony  of  his 
works  forever  destroyed;  but  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  such  ends  as  shall  be  compatible 
with  his  own  nature,  character  and  government. 
And  we  ask,  if  this  view  of  the  subject  does  not 
reflect  greater  honor  upon  the  character  of  the 
Divinity,  than  that  which  supposes  that  evil  ex- 
ists in  opposition  to  the  divine  intentions,  and 
will  finally  be  the  means  of  destroying  the  har- 
mony of  his  works,  and  of  defeating  his  right- 
eous and  benevolent  purposes  ?  The  reader  is 
particularly  desired  candidly  and  seriously  to 
ponder  this  question. 

In  whatever  difficulties  the  subject  may  be  in- 
volved, we  cannot  believe  that  creative  energy 
belongs  to  any  other  than  God;  or  that  the 
smallest  thing  can  be  efl'ectcd  without  the  aid  of 
power  at  first  derived  from  him.  And  in  the 
full  persuasion  that  such  is  the   doctrine  of  the 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  27 

Scriptures,  we  hold  it  as  a  truth,  demanding  be- 
lief and  worthy  of  G  od  ! 

The  same  Power  that  created  all  beings  and 
set  in  motion  the  operations  of  universal  nature, 
governs  with  the  hand  of  a  Sovereign  every 
creature  and  every  event.  Nothing  can  live  and 
move  without  his  aid.  He  upholds,  sustains, 
and  directs  all  things.  And  though  clouds  and 
darkness  are  round  about  him,  and  his  judg- 
ments are  unsearchable  and  his  ways  past  find- 
ing out,  we  are  assured  in  his  word  that  he 
*'  ivorketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will.''''  His  will  is  done,  as  well  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  as  in  the  armies  of 
heaven. 

"  The  general  order  since  the  world  began, 
Is  kept  in  nature,  and  is  kept  in  man.'''' 
We  admit  that  there  are  many  things  in  the 
divine  economy  above  human  comprehension. 
We  behold  evils  and  sufferings  in  the  world 
without  being  able  to  perceive  that  any  good  can 
ever  result  from  their  existence.  And  how 
shall  the  mind  obtain  satisfaction  in  reference  to 
such  subjects?  Consider  first  what  may  be 
known  of  God's  ways  from  the  visible  opera- 
tions of  his  hands.     In  the  natural  world  we  see 


28  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

the  atmosphere  purified  and  rendered  sahibri- 
oiis,  by  the  same  thunder  and  lightning  that 
leave  in  their  train  destruction  and  death.  The 
water  that  destroys  the  property  and  the  lives  of 
men,  enriches  the  earth,  and  causes  it  to  bring 
forth  seed  to  the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater. 
And  even  in  the  moral  world  we  have  seen  evils 
effect  their  own  cures,  and  be  the  means  of  last- 
ing good.  The  calamities  of  war  have  height- 
ened the  blessings  of  peace  ;  and  nations  and  in- 
dividuals have  been  taught  the  necessity  of  mo- 
deration by  the  evils  of  excess. 

A  slight  knowledge  of  God's  works  and  ways 
will  show  that  he  has  constituted  all  creatures 
for  enjoyment.  The  impress  of  benevolence  is 
discernible  in  every  thing  that  he  has  made.  And 
when  we  see  the  innocent  babe,  "born  only  to 
weep  and  die,"  knowing  nothing  of  the  world  save 
its  sufferings,  and  closing  its  eyes  in  sorrow,  and 
we  are  unable  here  to  recognise  the  hand  of  a 
kind  and  benignant  Being,  we  should  judge  of 
God's  ways  from  what  we  know.  Our  atten- 
tion should  be  turned  to  the  Scriptures  to  ascer- 
tain upon  w\i3.t principles  his  government  is  ad- 
ministered, and  what  are  the  purposes  of  his 
will  in  reference  to  mankind.  We  find  it  there 
declared  that  God  is  ^ood  to  all  his  creatures  ; 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  29 

and  that  the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  are 
not  worthy  to  be  compared  to  the  glory  which 
shall  hereafter  be  revealed  in  us. 

"  Here  tlien  we  rest ;  the  universal  cause 
Acts  to  one  end,  but  acts  by  various  laws.'" 

If  we  had  lived  in  the  days  of  Jacob,  and  wit- 
nessed his  afflictions  in  the  loss  of  Joseph,  we 
should  have  been  unable  to  reconcile  such  an 
event  with  the  universal  and  changeless  benevo- 
lence of  the  overruling  Power.  We  should  have 
supposed,  either  that  the  hand  of  God  was  not 
in  the  affair,  or  else  that  he  was  indifferent  to 
the  happiness  of  his  creatures.  But  when  we 
look  to  the  sequel  of  the  history,  we  find  that 
the  very  evils  which  appeared  so  great,  were  the 
means  of  accomplishing  the  greatest  good.  The 
slavery  of  Joseph  in  Egypt,  enabled  him  to  pre- 
serve his  father  and  family  alive,  and  to  perpetu- 
ate the  tribe  from  which  came  "  the  Savior 
of  the  world." 

If  we  had  witnessed  the  rejection  and  death 
of  Jesus,  we  might  have  supposed,  as  did  the 
disciples,  that  his  religion  was  destroyed,  and 
his  kingdom  forever  abolished.  And  yet  we 
now  learn  from  the  Scriptures,  that  the  death  of 
our  Master  was  the  great  means  of  establishing 
his  religion,  and  of  giving  permanency  to  his 
3* 


30  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

kingdom  on  earth.  His  enemies,  who  were 
blinded,  unwittingly  fulfilled  the  Scriptures,  and 
were  instruments  in  the  hands  of  God  in  pro- 
ving that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  promised  their 
fathers. 

And  if  we  had  seen  the  rejection  of  Israel  and 
the  call  of  the  Gentiles,  we  might  have  thought 
that  God  had  cast  away  his  people.  But  Paul 
has  assured  us,  Romans  xi,  that  the  casting 
away  of  the  Jews  is  th6  enriching  of  the  world, 
and  that  the  receiving  of  them  shall  be  life 
from  the  dead.  He  has  explained  the  great 
mystery,  and  shown  that  the  blindness  of  Israel 
is  only  partial,  and  that  they  shall  all  be  saved, 
together  with  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles.  Well 
then  might  he  exclaim  with  pleasing  wonder 
and  joy,  "0  the  depths  of  the  riches  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  how  unsearch- 
able are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  find- 
ing out!" 

Though  sin  and  wickedness  abound  in  the 
world,  and  men  are  punished  for  their  trans- 
gressions, God  is  ever  carrying  forward  his 
wise  and  benevolent  designs.  Every  thing  is 
subject  to  his  supreme  control,  and  subservient 
to  the  accomplishment  of  his  holy  will.  He  can 
say  to  the  angry  passions  of  the  human  soul,  as 


UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF.  31 

to  the  raging  billows  of  the  mighty  deep,  Hither- 
to shall  ye  come,  but  no  farther  !  He  has  "  de- 
clared the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  an- 
cient times  the  things  that  are  not  yet  done,  say- 
ing, My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all 
my  pleasure."  And  though  his  judgments  are 
unsearchable  and  his  ways  past  finding  out,  in 
His  all- comprehensive  view  every  thing  is  tend- 
ing to  the  final  execution  of  his  plans,  and  the 
eventual  blessedness  in  Christ  Jesus  of  the 
whole  race  of  Adam  ! 

"  All  nature  is  but  art,  unknown  to  thee ; 
All  chance,  direction,  which  thou  canst  not  see  ; 
All  discord,  harmony  not  understood  ; 
All  partial  evil,  universal  good." 


CHAPTER    III. 

REASONS  OF  BELIEF. 

The  Apostle  Paul  has  said,  2d  Cor.  iv.  13, 
*'We  having  the  same  spirit  of  faith,  according 
as  it  is  written,  I  believed,  and  therefore  have  I 
spoken  ;  we  also  believe,  and  therefore  speak." 
The  passage  of  ancient  scripture  to  which 
Paul  here  refers,  is  found  in  the  116th  Psalm. 
Believing  that  the  Lord  was  gracious,  righteous 
and  merciful,  David  gave  expression  to  the  feel- 
ings of  his  heart,  and  openly  declared  his  hope 
and  confidence  in  the  God  of  salvation.  And 
having  the  same  spirit  of  faith,  and  believing  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  all  the  heart,  Paul 
honestly  and  faithfully  declared  to  the  world  the 
grounds  and  reasons  of  his  belief. 

In  the  conduct  of  this  eminent  servant  of  God 
we  find  an  example  well  worthy  of  imitation. 
In  whatever  fanciful  theories  we  may  indulge — 
whatever  may  be  our  mere  speculations  in  regard 
to  things  of  a  sacred  nature,  nothing  deserves  to 
be  dignified  with  the  name  of  belief,  unless  some 
foundation  can  be  shown  and  some  reason  offer- 
ed  for  its  support.     And,  when,   from  careful 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  66 

study  in  a  right  spirit,  any  faith  toward  God  has 
been   obtained,  that  faith  should  be   expressed 
to  others.     "I  believed,   and   therefore  have  I 
spoken;  we  also  believe,  and  therefore  speak.'* 
Belief  is  not  mere  conjecture  :  nor  is  it  posi- 
tive knowledge.     It  is  the  persuasion  or  convic- 
tion of  the  understanding  that  some  unknown 
thing  is  true  ;  and  it  must  result  from  the  force 
of    evidence,  either  real   or   imaginary.     The 
greatest  falsehood  may  be  firmly  believed  ;  but 
in  such  a  case  there  is  some  supposed  reason 
sufficient  to  induce  belief  in  the  mind.     And  a 
good  understanding  of  that  reason  would  remove 
the  delusion,  and  discover  the  cheat.     But  when 
a  conjecture  is  formed    without  any   exercise 
of  the  reasoning  powers  of  the  mind ;  and  is 
thought  to  be  true,  though  no  ground  whatever 
can  be  assigned  for  its  support,  all  this  comes 
short  of  belief  and  is  sheer  imagination.     Per- 
haps many  persons  deceive  themselves  by  cher- 
ishing mere  speculations  as  their  strongest  faith 
and  their  dearest  hopes.     They  may  fancy  that 
this   thing  is  true,  and  that  the  other  will  here- 
after be  revealed,  when  at  the  same  time  they  can 
assign  no  reason  tvhi/  they  thus  think.     It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  any  such  ideal  creations 
are  belief     And  we  fear  that  such  things  are  too 


34  TJNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

common  among  Christian  people  of  the  present 
day.  There  is  a  fearful  tendency  among  reli- 
gious teachers  to  demand  belief,  without  produ- 
cing sufficient  evidence  to  convince  the  candid 
thinker  that  the  thing  to  be  believed  is  true. 
And  when  a  doctrine  is  embraced  without  being 
understood,  through  fear  of  incurring  the  suppo- 
sed consequences  of  not  embracing  it,  belief  is 
excluded,  though  the  imagination  is  terrified. 

In  speaking  of  Christian  belief,  Paul  said, 
"Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped 
for,  the  evidence  ['ground,  or,  confidence,'  in  the 
marginal  reading,]  of  things  not  seen."  The 
man  in  whom  the  spirit  of  this  faith  dwells  can 
inform  you  what  he  hopes  for;  and  he  can  also 
furnish  you  with  the  evidences  upon  which  his 
belief  is  founded.  He  is  uninfluenced  by  any 
considerations  of  good  policy— he  has  received 
the  mere  opinion  of  no  man  as  the  basis  of  his 
faith  and  hopes — he  thinks  he  believes  nothing 
for  which  he  can  offer  no  reason,  in  the  expecta- 
tion of  thus  securing  the  interests  of  his  soul — but 
his  mind  has  felt  the  weight  of  evidence,  and 
FAITH  is  the  result.  He  may  possess  but  small 
gifts,  and  his  tongue  be  unused  to  "  set  speech," 
but  he  knows  in  whom  he  has  trusted,  and  he 
can   show  you  the  grounds  of  his    confidence. 


UMVERSALIST    BELIEF.  35' 

And  thoiiorh  he  has  not  actual  knowledcre  of  all 
things  involving  his  interests,  he  "  walks  by 
faith,  and  not  by  sight,"  knowing  in  whom  he 
has  trusted,  and  feeling  well  assured  that  his 
hopes  are  built  upon  the  precious  foundation- 
stone  laid  in  Zion  !  Such  is  faith,  resting  upon 
evidence  ;  and  the  believer  is  required  to  speak 
and  make  known  the  reasons  of  his  belief. 

The  Scriptures  require  no  man  to  believe  any 
thing,  of  the  truth  of  which  he  can  find  no  evi- 
dence. They  demand  no  implicit  faith  ;  but  in- 
struct us  to  be  always  ready  to  give  a  reason  of 
the  hope  that  we  cherish.  The  Psalmist  did 
more  than  to  call  upon  men  to  see  the  Divine 
goodness — he  invited  them  to  taste  and  see  that 
the  Lord  is  good,  to  learn  the  fact  from  a  know- 
ledge of  his  works  and  ways.  Nay,  the  Divine 
word  cautions  us  against  believing  every  spirit, 
and  commands  us  to  try  the  spirits  whether  they 
are  of  God.  And  Jehovah  himself  said  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  "  Come,  now,  and  let  us  rea- 
son together."  From  all  these  instructions,  our 
duty  in  regard  to  matters  of  belief  is  perfectly 
plain.  AVe  must  think,  reason,  compare  and 
judge  for  ourselves,  and  not  for  one  another,  be- 
ing accountable  to  God  alone.  No  man  or  body 
of  men  has  any  right  to  prescribe  to  us  what  \ve 


36  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

shall  believe,  or  to  call  us  to  account  for  our 
faith.  Belief  is  a  personal  thing ;  and  even  God 
requires  of  us  no  more  than  to  avail  ourselves  of 
all  the  means  within  our  reach,  to  make  the  best 
possible  use  of  our  powers,  and  to  believe  that 
which  comes  from  sincere  and  honest  inquiry, 
and  is  the  result  of  evidence.  And  having  thus 
believed,  the  example  of  inspired  men  calls  upon 
us  to  speak. 

In  imitation  of  this  example,  we  have  under- 
taken to  state  the  grounds  and  reasons  of  our 
faith — to  show  ivhat  we  believe,  and  why 
we  believe.  The  subject  before  us  presents  a 
wide  field  of  labor,  and  we  have  no  expectation 
of  fully  exploring  it  in  all  its  parts.  Although' 
the  substance  of  our  faith  and  the  foundation  that 
supports  it,  may  be  stated  in  a  few  words,  the 
theme  is  vast  and  boundless,  and  might  be  con- 
templated forever,  while  new  beauties  would  be 
constantly  unfolded  to  the  mind.  The  riches  of 
Christ  are  unsearchable,  and  the  love  of  God 
passeth  all  understanding.  And  the  glories  of 
redemption,  into  which  angels  desired  to  look, 
could  hardly  be  set  forth  in  all  their  brightness 
by  the  feeble  powers  of  man.  But  there  is  much 
of  interest  within  our  reach,  and  we  hope  to  be 
able  to  show  by  reason  and  scripture  that  the 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  37 

doctrine  of  Universal  Salvation,  though  despised 
and  rejected  of  men,  as  was  "  the  Savior  of  the 
world,"  is  worthy  of  all  acceptation. 

We  solemnly  believe  that  the  views  which 
we  hold  of  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe, 
are  not  only  the  most  honorable  to  him  and  the 
most  compatible  with  his  works  and  word ;  but 
also  the  best  calculated  of  any  that  have  ever 
been  entertained,  to  save  men  both  from  the 
evils  of  fanaticism  and  from  the  deleterious  in- 
fluence of  Infidelity.  We  wish  not  to  cast  re- 
proach upon  our  fellow-christians  who  believe 
doctrines  that  we  abhor  ;  nor  do  we  seek  to  ex- 
alt ourselves  in  knowledge  and  usefulness  above 
the  faithful  and  devoted  teachers  whom  we  be- 
lieve to  be  in  great  error.  But  we  simply  state 
the  deliberate  conviction  of  our  mind,  and  thus 
incidentally  present  a  very  important  reason  for 
the  labor  in  which  we  are  now  enofaored. 

The  late  Dr.  Emmons,  who  has  quite  recent- 
ly been  called  to  sleep  with  his  fathers,  says,  in 
his  Appendix  to  Edwards  against  Chauncey, 
"  There  is  a  larger  number  than  these,  [thorough 
skeptics,]  perhaps,  who  ar.e  making  swift  and 
bold  advances  in  the  cause  of  Infidelity,  and 
leave  no  methods  unemployed  to  discredit  divine 
Revelation,  and  subvert  the  foundations  of  Chris- 
4 


^8  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

tianity.  They  need  not  tell  the  world  their  mo- 
tives; Were  they  not  convinced  that  the  Bihle 
contains  the  doctrine  of  eternal pwiisiiments, 
they  would  not  rack  their  invention  to  find  argu- 
ments to  persuade  themselves  and  others,  that  the 
Scriptures  are  a  cunningly  devised  fable.  Let 
this  doctrine  be  erased  from  the  Bible,  and  every 
Deist  would  become  its  votary,  and  exchange 
his  Bolingbroke,  Voltaire,  or  Chesterfield,  for 
that  sacred  volume.  It  is  this  doctrine  cdone  that 
compels  them  to  renounce  a  book,  which  bears  so 
many  signatures  of  divinity,  and  Avhich  they  are 
constrained  to  acknowledge  contains  the  most  ex- 
cellent institutions,  instructions  and  commands. 
But  so  weak  is  their  infidelity,  we  presume  they 
would  rejoice  to  find  the  Bible  on  their  side,  to 
confirm  their  wavering  hopes  and  feeble  pros- 
pects of  future  happiness.  And  this  is  what  the 
scheme  of  universal  salvation  promises.  It  flat- 
ters them  that  the  Bible  is  their  friend  ^  and  an- 
nounces eternal  felicity  to  them  and  to  all  man- 
kind. Accordingly,  it  is  well  known,  that  num- 
bers of  a  deistical  turn  have  become  converts  to 
this  agreeable  doctrine,  and  many  others  are  im- 
minently exposed  to  fall  into  the  fatal  snare. 
But  this  is  flying  from  the  iron  weapon,  and 
fushing  on  the  bow  of  steel.     For  if  any  discard 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 


39 


the  Bible  because  they  know  that  it  does  contain 
the  doctrine  of  future  and  eternal  punishments, 
or  embrace  it  because  they  imagine  that  it  does 
not  contain  that  doctrine,  they  will  infallibly 
meet  with  disappointment  and  ruin  in  the  end." 
These  concessions  of  an  eminent  theologian 
and  distinguished  opposer  of  our  faith,  contain 
truths  that  ought  to  be  generally  known  among 
Christian  people.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  endless 
misery  alone  that  compels  men  to  renounce  a 
book,  which  they  are  constrained  to  acknowledge 
contains  the  most  excellent  institutions  and  in- 
structions, and  which  they  would  eagerly  embrace 
and  believe,  if  they  could  only  feel  well  persua^ 
ded  that  it  gives  no  support  to  that  doctrine  and 
its  concomitant  cruelties  and  absurdities  !  The 
scheme  of  universal  salvation  aims  to  convince 
them  "that  the  Bible  is  their  friend"  and 
the  friend  of  all  mankind— that  it  proclaims 
i^o-ood  tidings  of  great  joy  that  shall  be  to  cdl 
people" — and  that  if  they  were  brought  to  be- 
lieve its  messages  of  salvation,  they  would  thus 
"confirm  their  wavering  hopes  and  feeble  pros- 
pects of  future  happiness,"  and  be  enabled  to  "re- 
joice with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory." 
Why  should  we  preach  a  doctrine  that  compels 
pen  to  reject  that  which  they  feel  constr.aine^ 


40  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

to  acknowledge  is  excellent  and  good ;  and 
which  they  would  cherish  with  warm  and  grate- 
ful hearts,  if  this  chief  and  only  obstacle  were 
removed  from  their  minds  ?  And  why  should 
we  be  censured  by  any  lover  of  Christian  truth 
and  righteousness,  for  laboring  to  deliver  men 
from  the  only  influence  that  binds  them  to  Infi- 
delity, and  to  bring  them  into  the  happy  belief 
that  God  "will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to 
come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ?"  If  we 
can  induce  "numbers  of  a  deistical  turn"  to  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  Christ  is  "the  Savior  of  the 
world,"  and  thus  be  the  means  of  subduing  their 
opposition  and  enlisting  their  souls  in  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel,  we  shall  accomplish  a  good  work; 
and  we  ought  to  receive  the  thanks,  and  not  the 
reproaches  of  good  men. 

We  cannot  believe  that  God  has  revealed  any 
doctrine,  the  knowledge  of  which  forms  the  on- 
ly barrier  to  belief  in  minds  that  feel  constrained 
to  acknowledge  that  his  revelation  "contains  the 
most  excellent  institutions,  instructions,  and 
commands."  That  the  doctrine  of  endless  mis- 
ery produces  this  unhappy  effect,  is  freely  ad- 
mitted both  by  the  friends  and  the  opposers  of 
that  doctrine.  It  is  so  utterly  repugnant  to  ev- 
ery good  feeling  that  God  has  implanted  within 


UXIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  41 

US,  that  few  ever  embrace  it  from  candid  in- 
vestigation and  reasonable  conviction.  Many- 
are  made  to  believe  it  from  the  mere  force  of 
early  and  deep-rooted  prejudices  and  the  conti- 
nued influence  of  education  ;  while  others  em- 
brace it  under  the  power  of  fear,  and  in  the  hope 
of  escaping  dreadful  evils  and  of  securing  the 
greatest  blessings.  But  when  reason  is  freely 
called  into  requisition,  and  the  best  feelings  of 
humanity  are  allowed  to  exert  their  proper  influ- 
ence over  the  mind,  the  supposition  that  the 
Scriptures  countenance  the  awful  doctrine  of  un- 
ending torments,  will  lead  to  a  rejection  of  the 
whole  counsel  of  God  !  And  "it  is  this  doc- 
trine alone  that  compels  men  to  renounce  a  book, 
which  bears  so  many  signatures  of  divinity,  and 
which  they  are  constrained  to  acknowledge  con- 
tains the  most  excellent  institutions,  instructions, 
and  commands." 

We  desire,  with  the  help  of  God,  to  take  away 
this  fatal  stumbling-block — this  dangerous  rock 
of  ofl'ence,  upon  which  so  many  have  made 
shipwreck  of  their  faith  in  Christ  and  their  best 
hopes  of  immortality.  Having  received  the 
spirit  of  that  faith  which  is  friendly  to  all  men, 
and  embraces  the  final  holiness  and  happiness  of 
all,  we  speak  in  behalf  of  our  sufl*ering  race. 


42  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

And  while  we  endeavor  to  guard  our  fellows 
against  the  blinding  influence  of  false  preconcep- 
tions, and  all  conjectural  and  groundless  alarms  ; 
we  would  also  strive  to  save  them  from  the  mis- 
erable effects  of  skepticism,  and  to  remove  the 
very  cause  of  their  infidelity.  Both  the  believer 
in  endless  misery  and  the  skeptic  must  experi- 
ence painful  doubts  in  regard  to  the  future  state 
of  existence.  The  former  cannot  feel  assured 
beyond  every  misgiving  that  he  will  be  in  the 
right  frame  of  mind  to  ascend  to  celestial  bliss 
just  when  "the  silver  cord"  of  life  is  loosed 
from  its  hold,  and  the  spirit  is  called  to  depart ; 
and  he  cannot  with  confidence  promise  himself 
what  fate  may  await  him  beyond  the  veil  of 
death.  All  is  uncertainty  ;  and  the  mind,  if  it 
seriously  reflect,  is  constantly  wavering  between 
hope  and  fear.  And  of  the  latter,  it  has  well 
been  said,  "  In  vain  does  the  unbeliever  soothe 
his  soul  with  the  prospect  of  an  eternal  sleep  ; 
for  by  what  argument  can  he  prove  that  we  will 
not  live  by  chance  in  eternity,  as  certainly  as 
we  have  lived  by  chance  in  time  ?  And  whether 
our  future  state  will  chance  to  be  a  heaven  or 
a  hell,  no  atheist  is  able  to  inform  us.  If  it  be 
a  heaven,  no  thanks  to  any  intelligent  author; 
and  if  a  hell,  no  hope  from  any  parental  guar- 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  43 

dian  or  friend,  to  save  us  from  its  horrors.  On 
this  drendful  uncertainty,  what  considerate  man 
would  not  lament  that  he  ever  opened  his  eyes 
upon  the  light,  or  ever  breathed  the  vitality  of 
the  atmosphere?"* 

"  We  have  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy  ; 
whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed,  as  unto 
a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day 
dawn,  and  the  day  star  arise  in  your  hearts." 
We  2an  pray  "for  all  men,"  which  "is  good 
and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  our  Savior, 
who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth" — "lifting  up 
holy  hands,  ivithout  ivrath  and  doubting.^* 
And  if  we  can  be  the  means  of  imparting  this 
blessed  and  glorious  faith  to  any  unbelieving 
mind,  or  to  any  fearful  soul,  we  shall  add  to  the 
sum  of  human  happiness,  and  in  some  small  de- 
gree advance  the  interests  of  our  Savior's  king- 
dom, on  earth. 

*  Rev.  Asa  SI. inn. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

INSPIRATION  AND  TRUTH  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

Rejecting  all  the  creeds  that  have  ever  been 
established  by  human  authority,  we  make  the  Bi- 
ble itself  the  basis  of  our  faith  and  hopes.  We 
believe  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  contain  a  revelation  from  God  of 
the  whole  duty  and  final  destiny  of  all  mankind. 
They  come  to  us  not  as  mere  histories,  inform- 
ing us  of  people  that  lived,  and  of  things  that 
happened  in  other  days  ;  but  as  genuine  and 
authentic  records,  dictated  by  the  spirit  of  the 
Living  God.  The  sacred  writers  were  but 
men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves  ;  but 
they  received  "the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty," 
and  were  gifted  with  extraordinary  po\yers. 
And  the  communications  which  they  made  to 
the  world  were  never  conceived  of  by  the  unaid- 
ed faculties  of  the  human  mind.  While  they 
performed  works  far  above  the  abilities  of  all 
other  men,  they  looked  through  the  vista  of  dis- 
tant ages,  and  made  known  future  events.  And 
the  prophecies  which  the  ancient  Seers  of  God 
proclaimed  to  their  fellows,  were  long  afterwards 
verified  beyond  the  cavil  even  of  enemies. 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  45 

Without  attempting  any  thing  like  a  full  proof 
of  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
we  think  it  impossible  for  any  candid  and  dis- 
cerning man  to  read  the  predictions  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  regard  to  cities,  countries  and  peo- 
ple, and  especially  as  they  relate  to  the  Jews,  and 
then  attentively  consider  their  remarkable  fulfil- 
ment, without  being  thoroughly  and  perfectly 
convinced  that  the  spirit  of  the  All-seeing  God 
was  the  spirit  of  prophecy  in  the  hearts  of  "holy 
men  of  old."  These  predictions  were  not  seem- 
ingly verified  in  an  occasional  coincidence  ;  but 
fulfilled  to  the  very  letter  in  numberless  instances ; 
and  monuments  of  the  fact  are  yet  visible 
to  all.  Look  at  Babylon,  Idumea,  Jerusalem, 
the  natural  descendants  of  Abraham — any  city, 
country  or  people,  of  which  the  Scriptures  pro- 
phesied, and  you  will  perceive  that  if  the  pro- 
phets spoke  at  random,  their  predictions  present 
the  greatest  mystery  that  ever  puzzled  the  mind, 
or  gained  the  belief  of  a  thinking  being.  If  they 
spoke  by  chance,  well  may  we  say  with  Pope, 
"All  chance,  direction  which  thou  canst  not  see." 
The  ancient  prophecies  relating  to  the  Mes- 
siah are  still  more  remarkable.  No  such  per- 
sonage had  ever  appeared  in  the  world — none 
like  him  has  ever  since  been  known  among  men. 


46  LNIVilRSALIST    BKLILF. 

But  the  time  of  his  coming,  his  character,  oflices, 
labors  and  death  were  all  accurately  foretold  long 
before  the  day  of  his  advent.  The  predictions 
of  the  Scriptures  had  excited  general  and  almost 
universal  expectations  of  his  appearance  on 
earth,  at  the  very  time  when  angels  from  hea- 
ven announced  his  nativity.  John  the  Baptist 
was  at  first  thought  by  the  Jews  to  be  the  Mes- 
siah that  had  been  promised;  and  he  found  it  ne- 
cessary to  certify  them  distinctly  that  he  was 
"not  the  Christ."  And  what  gives  peculiar  force 
and  weight  to  the  authority  of  divine  prophecy 
in  this  case,  is  the  fact  that  the  Jews  were  dis- 
appointed in  the  character  of  our  Savior ;  and 
by  opposing  and  putting  him  to  death,  they  un- 
wittingly fulfilled  all  that  the  prophets  had  spo- 
ken. There  was  no  collusion  between  Jews 
and  Christians  to  palm  a  deception  upon  the 
world ;  but  one  party  strove  to  uphold  the  old 
religion,  while  the  other  stood  forth  in  the  midst 
of  dangers  and  death  to  defend  the  new  and  bet- 
ter covenant  of  promise.  And  while  the  former 
fiercely  opposed  all  the  claims  of  our  Lord  to 
the  Messiahship,  the  latter  clearly  proved  by  an- 
cient writings  that  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews, 
that  Jesus  was  indeed  the  Christ ! 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  47 

The  inspiration  and  truth  of  the  Old  Testament 
are  established  by  a  long  chain  of  both  internal 
and  external  proofs,  while  the  claims  of  the  New 
are  now  attested  by  additional  evidence.  The  ef- 
fects of  the  Gospel  which  we  see  and  feel  all 
around  us,  bear  convincing  testimony,  not  only 
to  its  truth,  but  also  to  its  exceeding  and  un- 
speakable value.  It  is  the  source  of  our  best 
knowledge,  and  the  fountain  of  our  purest  hap- 
piness. It  contains  the  secret  power  of  every 
real  improvement  in  society;  and  every  enlight- 
ened nation  now  on  earth  has  been  instructed 
and  elevated  by  the  moral  influence  of  Christi- 
anity. This  religion  has  fashioned  the  laws 
and  moulded  the  institutions  that  give  us  a  hio-h 
and  noble  rank  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
world.  And  wherever  its  power  is  really  felt, 
man  is  raised  up  from  his  degradation,  and  re- 
newed in  the  spirit  of  knowledge  after  the  image 
of  him  that  created  him.  But  to  attempt  to 
prove  the  truth  of  Christianity  in  a  Christian 
community  would  be  a  needless  work.  Its  works 
sufficiently  bear  it  witness.  And  the  man  who 
will  deny  the  works  would  hardly  be  profited 
by  reason  and  argument. 

We  know  that  there  are  men  in  the  world  sur- 
rounded by  the  blessings  of  revealed  religion, 


48  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

who  *'rack  their  invention  to  find  arguments  to 
persuade  themselves  and  others,  that  the  Scrip- 
tures are  a  cunningly  devised  fable."  But  we 
are  well  convinced  that  their  opposition  to  the 
teachings  of  divine  wisdom,  and  their  ingratitude 
to  God  for  his  richest  favors,  are,  in  most  cases 
at  least,  the  results  of  very  superficial  thinking, 
if  not  of  vain  conceit  and  wilful  perversity ! 
The  common  objections  to  the  Bible  have  all 
been  repeatedly  and  most  triumphantly  answer- 
ed ;  but  as  in  another  case  that  might  be  named, 
they  are  still  reiterated  with  as  much  confidence 
and  boldness,  as  if  nothing  approaching  an  an- 
swer could  possibly  be  furnished.  Let  any  man 
of  good  sense  read  Watson's  Reply  to  Paine 
with  candor ;  and  he  will  be  astonished  to  wit- 
ness the  weakness  and  perversity,  the  effrontery 
and  daring  falsehood,  which  every  where  abound 
in  that  mischievous  w^ork,  called  by  a  strange 
abuse  of  language,  "The  Age  of  Reason."  And 
yet  the  beggarly  and  mendacious  assumptions 
of  this  book  are  flippantly  quoted  to  disprove 
the  Bible,  by  persons  \vho  are  almost  as  igno- 
rant of  what  the  Scriptures  contain  as  they  are  of 
the  Persian  Zendavesta  !  An  apparent  contra- 
diction is  referred  to,  and  declared  suflUcient  to 
condemn  the    whole    Bible,  when  at  the  same 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  49 

time  a  little  modest  study  would  show  that  the 
whole  difficulty  has  originated  in  sheer  misun- 
derstanding. Or  a  command  of  God  is  pro- 
nounced arbitrary  and  unjust,  when  its  meaning 
is  neither  known  nor  sought.  Or  a  prophetic 
vision,  highly  embellished  with  poetic  imagery, 
is  declared  to  be  all  nonsense,  by  some  shallow- 
minded  person  who  has  never  taken  the 
pains  to  acquaint  himself  with  what  it  does  ac- 
tually signify.  And  so  of  many  other  supposed 
objections  to  divine  truth. 

But  all  such  cavils  are  very  small  matters ;  and 
they  are  hardly  worthy  to  be  taken  into  account 
in  deciding  the  great  question  whether  we  have 
any  ground  of  confidence  in  the  God  who  made 
us,  or  whether  all  our  hopes  are  the  mere  delu- 
sions of  superstitious  weakness.  What  if  two 
sentences  snatched  from  different  parts  of  the 
Bible,  seem  not  to  express  the  same  meaning  to 
the  very  letter,  shall  we  therefore  abandon  our 
trust  in  Heaven,  give  our  joyous  faith  to  the 
winds,  count  the  blood  of  the  cross  an  unclean 
thing,  and  do  despite  to  the  spirit  of  divine 
grace  ?  Let  us  but  know  that  ''God,  who  at 
sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in 
time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath 
5 


50  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son," 
and  we  care  nothing  for  the  poor  quibbles  and 
empty  cavils  of  men  wise  in  their  own  conceit. 
The  strong  holds  of  our  defence  will  be  unharm- 
ed by  any  assault  of  the  foe  ;  and  the  mightiest 
weapon  that  can  be  hurled  at  our  citadel,  will 
either  fall  harmless  at  its  base,  or  return  with 
increased  force  upon  the  head  of  the  foolish  as- 
sailant ! 

If  all  the  supposed  discrepancies  found  in  the 
Bible  were  real  and  unanswerable, that  sacred  vo- 
lume would  still  stand  a  lasting  monument  of 
the  wisdom,  power,  and  beneficence  of  God. 
The  great  and  fundamental  truths  which  it  con- 
tains would  still  be  abundantly  attested ;  and  it 
would  still  reasonably  claim  the  hearty  belief, 
aye,  the  strongest  love  and  the  highest  admira- 
tion of  every  human  soul.  But  these  little  things 
can  all  be  explained  consistently  with  reason 
and  truth,  and  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  every 
mind  that  is  capable  and  candid  enough  to  per- 
ceive the  force  of  reason  and  the  evidence  of 
truth.  And  it  should  be  understood  that  Infi- 
dels do  not  attack  the  main  bulwarks  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  and  enter  the  castle  to  take  it  by 
storm.     They  commonly  throw  small  missiles, 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  51 

and  seem  to  take  delight  in  annoying,  while  they 
shudder  to  attempt  the  work  of  complete  and 
thorouorh  destruction.     The  standard  works  in 

o 

defence  of  the  Bible  are  not  manfully  attacked, 
and  their  arguments  one  after  another  fairly  ex- 
amined and  exph)ded.  But  the  enemy  is  wont 
to  hang  about  the  outskirts  of  the  camp,  to  make 
a  display  of  his  prowess  in  capturing  some  un- 
guarded victim.  And  perhaps  the  reason  of  all 
this  small  kind  of  warfare  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  none  can  entirely  divest  themselves  of  the 
impression  that  God  has  in  some  degree  reveal- 
ed himself  to  man  in  the  holy  Scriptures. 


CHAPTER   V. 

CAUSES  OF  SKEPTICAL  OBJECTIONS. 

The  principal  objections  of  skeptics  are  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  directed  against  doctrines  that  are 
really  taught  in  the  word  of  God.  They  sup- 
pose the  Bible  to  contain  the  doctrines  of  total 
depravity,  the  Trinity,  a  vicarious  atonement, 
an  almost  omnipotent  personal  devil,  and  an 
endless  hell.  They  cannot  believe  that  man  is 
naturally  and  thoroughly  corrupt  in  all  his  feel- 
ings, alFections  and  powers.  They  know  from 
experience  and  observation,  and  from  every 
source  whence  they  can  obtain  knowledge,  that 
this  doctrine  is  as  false  as  it  is  dishonorable  to 
God  and  degrading  to  man.  Both  reason  and 
feeling  are  shocked  at  the  thought  that  God 
would  create,  or  suffer  his  works  to  be  disgraced 
by  a  mere  mass  of  living  pollution ;  and  they 
turn  with  loathing  and  disgust  from  a  book  which 
they  have  been  taught  to  believe  contains  this 
abominable  notion.  For  the  mere  act  of  reject- 
ing such  a  doctrine  they  deserve  no  censure ; 
for  nothing  could  more  shamefully  outrage  all 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 


53 


religion  and  humanity,  than  the  notion  tliat  the 
noblest  work  of  God  on  earth,  and  the  only 
mortal  creature  that  bears  his  image,  is  the  only 
utterly  vile  and  worthless  thing  in  his  whole 
creation]  But  if  they  would  only  free  their 
minds  from  all  wrong  prejudices,  make  the  pro- 
per and  necessary  distinction  between  human 
creeds  and  divine  truth,  and  learn  what  the  Bi- 
ble says  on  this  subject,  one  great  cause  of  their 
infidelity  would  soon  be  removed,  and  they 
would  find  themselves  prepared  to  make  farther 
advances  in  the  truth. 

They  cannot  believe  that  three  distinct  per- 
sons, each  perfect  and  entire  in  himself  consti- 
tute but  one  being  ;  nor  can  they  possibly  un- 
derstand how  a  son  can  be  of  exactly  the  same 
age  with  his  father.  The  supposition,  though 
not  like  the  foregoing,  utterly  abhorrent  to  every 
good  feeling,  is  equally  opposed  to  every  dictate 
of  that  reason  which  God  has  bestowed  upon 
his  creature  man.  Three  mean  more  than  one, 
and  one  less  than  three,  the  world  over ;  and  on 
any  other  than  a  religious  subject,  every  man 
who  has  any  thing  like  common  understanding 
will  admit  that  the  father  must  exist  before  his 
son.     But  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  divine 

5* 


54  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

record  would  lead  no  man  into  the  belief  of  any 
such  manifest  contradiction  and  absurdity.  It 
teaches  that  "there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father, 
of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  in  him  ;  and 
one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things, 
and  we  by  him."  1  Cor.  viii.  6.  And  it  re- 
quires us  to  believe  no  doctrine  that  stands  op- 
posed to  all  that  was  ever  thought  to  be  reason, 
and  which,  however  sincerely  believed,  no  man 
can  suppose  that  he  ever  understood  ! 

They  cannot  see  the  justice  of  punishing  the 
innocent  for  the  sins  of  the  guilty — of  visiting 
fierce  wrath  and  vengeance  upon  one  who  never 
sinned,  and  in  whose  mouth  there  was  no  guile, 
to  satisfy  legal  demands  upon  transgressors. 
Such  procedure  is  altogether  incompatible  with 
our  natural  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  and  would 
be  condemned  in  man  as  the  very  climax  of  in- 
justice and  wanton  cruelty.  This  notion  formed 
one  of  the  chief  objections  of  Paine  to  the  truth 
of  the  Bible  and  its  moral  influence  in  the  world. 
He  could  see  neither  justice  nor  good  example 
in  visiting  the  inflictions  of  a  broken  law  upon 
the  unofl'ending,  instead  of  the  guilty.  Yet  the 
Scriptures  declare  God  to  he  just,  and  command 
us  to  be  his  imitators.     All  this  seems  as  con- 


I 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  55 

tradictory  as  it  is  unlovely.  And  with  such  a 
confusion  of  ideas  in  the  mind,  it  is  no  marvel 
that  some  men  should  rashly  condemn  what 
they  conceive  to  be  the  source  of  such  a  doc- 
trine. But  here,  again,  the  want  of  discrimina- 
tion is  apparent ;  and  creeds  and  the  Bible  are 
again  found  at  issue.  The  scriptures  declare  that 
God  "  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty;"  and 
though  they  speak  of  Christ's  sufferings  for  us, 
i.  e.  in  our  behalf,  they  nowhere  say  that  he  was 
e\er  punished  in  onr  stead,  or  that  he  ever  sif- 
fered  in  our  stead.  And  a  good  understanding 
of  just  what  the  Bible  does  teach  on  this  subject, 
would  overcome  and  bear  away  another  objec- 
tion that  has  long  hindered  men  from  believing 
what  God  has  spoken  by  the  prophets  and  by 
his  Son. 

Skeptics  also  rear  an  objection  of  no  incon- 
siderable importance  upon  the  mistaken  notion 
that  the  Bible  speaks  of  a  most  powerful  evil 
being,  who  disputes  with  the  Almighty  the  go- 
vernment of  the  world,  and  who  will  finally 
leave  the  contest  with  very  great  spoils,  and 
reign  eternally  in  his  kingdom  over  untold  my- 
riads of  subjects.  The  question  will  arise  in 
the  mind,  as  it  did  with  Crusoe's  man  Friday, 


58  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

why  will  the  Omnipotent  Jehovah  endlessly 
preserve  in  existence  this  arch-enemy  of  all  that 
is  good  ?  ''TVhy  not  kill  him?''  If  God  really 
ivills  to  bless  all  men  in  Christ,  why  not  remove 
this  only  hindrance  to  so  great  and  good  a 
work  ?  But  the  Bible  gives  us  no  information 
of  any  Devil,  but  such  as  we  find  in  the  carnal 
mind,  and  in  wicked  adversaries  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  And  if  skeptics  would  rightly 
inform  themselves  on  this  subject,  they  would 
very  readily  perceive  that  their  objection  is 
based  in  entire  mistake,  and  is  consequently  of 
no  force. 

All  skeptics,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to 
ascertain  their  views,  suppose  the  Bible  to  teach 
the  doctrine  of  endless  misery ;  and  on  this 
ground  they  reject  it.  "It  is  this  doctrine  alone 
(says  Dr.  Emmons)  that  compels  them  to  re- 
nounce a  book,  which  bears  so  many  signatures 
of  divinity,  and  which  they  are  constrained  to 
acknowledge  contains  the  most  excellent  insti- 
tutions, instructions  and  commands."  And  who 
can  deny  that  there  is  something  inexpressibly 
awful  and  abhorrent  to  the  purest  and  best  feel- 
ings of  every  man,  in  the  thought  that  the  Fa- 
ther of  mercies  and  the   God  of  all  grace  will 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  57 

curse  a  part  of  his  offspring  with  all  imaginable 
tortures,  throughout  the  ceaseless  duration  of 
eternity  ?  And  when  such  is  declared  to  be  the 
doctrine  of  that  Book  which  proclaims  "  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  that  shall  be  to  all  people,'' 
who  can  blame  a  man  for  pausing  to  inquire  be- 
fore he  believes  ?  Alas !  how  many  have  been 
driven  headlong  into  the  vortex  of  Infidelity  by 
that  which  ''compels  them  to  renounce''  the 
glad  tidings  of  peace  and  salvation  to  the  world! 
How  many  have  turned  away  from  the  Bible, 
because  they  supposed  it  to  contain  a  doctrine  un- 
surpassed in  cruelty  by  any  thing  ever  conceived 
by  pagan  superstition  or  savage  ferocity  !  But 
if  they  had  learned  that  the  Bible  is  their  friend, 
and  announces  eternal  felicity  to  them  and  to  all 
mankind,"  they  would  have  embraced  it  with 
zeal  and  loved  it  with  ardent  devotion. 

Thus  we  find  that  the  chief  objections  to  the 
word  of  God  result  from  the  belief  that  it  teaches 
certain  doctrines  of  human  creeds,  to  which  in 
fact  it  gives  no  support  whatever.  This  consi- 
deration should  strengthen  our  faith  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  also  increase  our  zeal  in  the  work  of 
convincing  mankind  what  God  has  spoken,  and 
what  he  requires  us   to  believe.     The   Bible 


58  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

should  be  diligently  studied  in  perfect  freedom 
from  all  restraints  imposed  by  human  means  and 
authority.  And  if  thus  studied,  with  the  aid  of 
every  useful  help  that  can  be  obtained,  it  will 
make  the  mind  wise  unto  salvation,  and  fill  the 
soul  with  peace  and  joy  ! 

One  more  consideration  will  bring  us  to  the 
close  of  the  present  chapter:  We  should  be- 
live  no  doctrine  that  cannot  be  expressed  in  the 
language  of  the  Bible.  It  may  well  be  con- 
cluded that  God  intended  his  word  to  be  under- 
stood according  to  the  language  in  which  that 
word  has  been  spoken  to  man.  Figures  and 
parables  should  be  interpreted  in  accordance 
with  the  known  usage  of  language,  and  in  the 
light  of  clear  and  unambiguous  testimony.  But 
every  essential  item  of  Christian  faith  should  be 
found  expressed  in  words  so  plain  and  easily 
understood,  that  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a 
fool,  need  not  err  therein.  And  such  is  indeed 
the  case.  Who  can  fail  to  comprehend  such 
declarations  as  the  following? — "The  Lord  is 
good  to  all ;  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all 
his  works." — "  There  is  but  one  God." — "  God 
is  love." — He  "  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty." — He  "  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved." 
—He  is  the  "  God  and  Father  of  all."—"  The 
living  God,  who  is  the  Savior  of  all  men." 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  59 

Such  language  expresses  truths  involving 
the  highest  interests  of  man  in  time  and  in 
eternity  ;  and  it  is  commended  by  its  very  sim- 
plicity to  the  comprehension  of  every  man.  But 
the  reader  will  find  that  the  doctrines  which 
compel  men  to  reject  the  Bible  against  their  own 
feelings  and  convictions  of  its  excellency  and 
worth,  though  very  plainly  stated  in  the  creeds  of 
human  devise,  were  never  expressed  in  Scripture 
language.  The  Trinity,  vicarious  atonement,  to- 
tal depravity,  substituted  righteousness  and  sin, 
future  judgment,  and  endless  misery,  are  phrases 
that  have  never  yet  been  found  in  Scripture ; 
nor  have  we  been  able  to  find  any  thing  of  a 
similar  meaning.  Such  things,  therefore,  should 
all  be  laid  aside ;  while  the  Divine  Record  is 
made  the  great  standard  and  the  only  standard  of 
our  faith. 

Let  all  our  inquiries  be  thus  governed — let  us 
cultivate  a  fondness  for  the  study  of  divine  truth 
— let  us  habituate  the  mind  to  frequent  and  con- 
stant communion  with  God — and  while  we  dili- 
gently avail  ourselves  of  every  means  of  instruc- 
tion which  the  Lord  has  afforded,  let  us  humbly 
and  devoudy  pray  that  his  Holy  Spirit  will  en 
lighten  our  minds  and  guide  us  into  all  truth. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  NATURE  AND  ATTRIBUTES  OF  GOD. 

Much  as  Christians  of  various  denominations 
disagree  in  their  respective  systems  of  faith, 
there  is  a  remarkable  concurrence  of  belief  among 
all  in  regard  to  the  essential  attributes  of  the 
Godhead.  All  believe  that  our  Maker  is  a  being 
of  infinite  wisdom,  almighty  power,  and  perfect 
and  unbounded  benevolence.  These  three  at- 
tributes plainly  comprise  all  that  belong  to  the 
Divinity.  And  justice  and  mercy,  holiness  and 
truth  are  but  varied  manifestations  of  the  same 
common  nature.  No  conflicting  principles  abide 
in  God — no  opposing  qualities  emanate  from 
Him.  And  if  it  be  proper  to  distinguish  be- 
tween his  several  attributes,  it  may  well  be  said. 
And  now  abideth  wisdom,  power  and  goodness, 
these  three ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  good- 
ness. None  deny  that  God  possesses  every  ex- 
cellency of  character  in  the  greatest  possible 
perfection  ;  and  all  admit  that  if  any  attribute  of 


UMVERSALIST  BELIEF.  61 

the  divine  nature  may  properly  be  distinguished 
above  all  the  rest,  that  attribute  is  benevolence. 
Whether  we  direct  our  inquiries  to  the  works 
and  ways,  or  to  the  word  of  God,  we  everywhere 
behold  the  most  strikinf^  and  convincino^  mani- 
Testations  of  goodness.  Every  theological  writer, 
of  whatever  belief,  and  upon  whatever  subject  he 
may  bestow  his  labors,  is  constrained  to  acknow- 
ledge that  the  earth  is  full  of  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord;  and  that  wherever  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  Jehovah  are  displayed,  there  are  cer- 
tain proofs  of  perfect  and  changeless  benevolence. 
The  great  fundamental  principles  of  all  reli- 
gious truth  are  freely  recognized  by  all  profess- 
ing Christians  ;  and  our  diversities  of  belief  are 
found  in  the  different  conclusions  which  we 
draw  from  the  same  general  premises.  While 
all  believe  that  God  is  infinitely  wise,  powerful 
and  good,  and  perhaps  also  agree  with  respect 
to  the  designs  and  intentions  of  his  will,  the 
slightest  progress  of  mind  from  first  principles  is 
marked  by  contrariety  of  faith.  And  the  fact 
seems  strange  and  almost  unaccountable,  that  in 
starting  from  the  same  point  and  in  reasoning 
from  the  same  acknowledged  principles,  we 
arrive  at  not  only  different,  but  directly  opposite 

6 


62  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

results.     One  is  led  to  believe  in  the  final  de- 
struction of  all  sin  and  suffering,  while  another 
holds  that  these  enemies  of  God  and  man  will 
be  immortalized  and  continue  to  exist  so  long  as 
eternity  shall  endure.     Surely,  one  or  the  other 
must  "  greatly  err."     And  it  cannot  be  consider- 
ed a  matter  of  indifference  with   any   thinking 
being     whether     we     know     on    which    side 
the  truth  is  found,  or  not.     The  subject  relates 
to  the  highest  interests  of  the  soul.     And  the 
individual  who  realizes  no  concern  of  mind  in 
reo-ard  to  the  ultimate  destination  of  the  human 
race  is  unworthy  the  name  of  a  man.     On  this 
subject  every  thought  and  feeling  of  the  mind 
should  be  actively  and  earnestly  engaged ;  and 
the   inquiry  should   be   steadily   and  faithfully 
pursued,  until  every  cloud  is  dispersed  and  every 
doubt  removed,  and  the  soul  enters  fully  into 
rest  in  believing  the  whole  truth  of  God.     And 
although  we  claim  no  infallibility,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  God  has  placed  within  our  reach  the 
means  of  ascertaining  to  our  perfect  satisfaction 
what  shall  be  the  final  destiny  of  the  human 
family.    The  whole  plan  of  the  divine  economy 
may  not  be  understood — the  unsearchable  judg- 
ments of  God  may  not  be  fathomed  by  the  feeble 
powers  of  man — the   times  and  seasons  which 


UMVERSALIST  BELIEF.  63 

the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power  may  not 
be  known  to  the  dwellers  on  earth — and  we  may 
not  clearly  perceive  all  the  means  and  instru- 
mentalities by  which  the  world  shall  be  recon- 
ciled unto  God  and  blessed  in  Christ  Jesus. 
But  from  a  good  understanding  of  the  nature  and 
attributes  of  the  Lord,  and  with  the  powerful 
aids  derived  from  the  clear  light  of  revelation, 
we  may  ascertain  the  purposes  of  our  Maker, 
and  learn  the  great  end  for  which  we  were 
spoken  into  being. 

Is  the  subject  of  religion  dark  and  abstruse 
above  all  others,  that  men  think  and  believe  so 
differently  on  this  subject?  We  cannot  sanc- 
tion such  a  notion.  And  we  are  well  persua- 
ded that  such  wide  and  essential  differences  of 
faith  would  be  overcome  and  removed,  if  men 
would  only  reason  as  logically  from  cause  to  ef- 
fect and  from  proposition  to  conclusion  on  reli- 
gious subjects,  as  in  matters  of  less  importance. 
The  true  reason  of  such  unreasonable  diversities 
of  belief  must  be  sought  in  the  preponderating 
force  of  religious  feeling,  and  in  the  almost  in- 
vincible power  of  prejudice  in  sacred  things; 
and  not  in  the  nature  of  the  subject  itself.  Be- 
cause religion  is  so  pre-eminently  important  to 


64  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

man,  and  feeling  and  desire  are  more  strong  and 
active  than  reason  and  judgment  on  this  subject, 
the  mind  is  here  less  susceptible  to  the  convic- 
tions of  truth,  tlian  in  reference  to  any  other 
matter  that  invites  investigation  and  claims  be- 
lief. Liability  to  mistake  is  a  common  weak- 
ness of  our  race  ;  and  error  here  seems  to  take 
the  strongest  hold,  and  is  the  least  willing  to 
yield  to  the  persuasions  of  reason  and  the  evi- 
dence of  truth.  On  this  subject,  the  best  gift  of 
God  to  man,  even  reason,  has  been  denied  its 
appropriate  work,  the  voice  of  humanity  has 
been  silenced,  and  every  generous  emotion  of 
the  soul  has  been  stifled  by  the  influence  of  fear 
and  the  arbitrary  power  of  prejudice.  And  men 
of  deep  and  vigorous  intellect  and  the  most  clear 
and  penetrating  minds  in  most  respects,  have 
been  so  completely  fettered  in  erroneous  prepos- 
sessions on  this  subject,  as  to  sanction  and  adopt 
a  process  of  reasoning,  that  would  meet  their 
severest  reprehension  and  even  excite  their  ridi- 
cule in  any  matter  of  philosophical  truth. 

It  is  painful  to  reflect  upon  the  fact  that  men 
of  high  standing  and  great  influence  in  society, 
avowedly  support  doctrines  which  they  have 
never  examined,  and  which  they  could  not  be- 


UXIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  bO 

lieve  if  they  were  fully  to  investigate  their  claims 
to  belief.  They  have  been  drawn  into  particu- 
lar churches  by  various  influences — some  by 
education  and  early  associations,  but  more  per- 
haps through  the  desire  to  be  considered  fashion- 
able ;  and  they  seem  not  to  care  what  is  preach- 
ed or  what  is  believed.  "  A  theological  system," 
says  Dr.  Jortin,  "  is  too  often  no  more  than  a 
temple  consecrated  to  implicit  faith  ;  and  he  who 
enters  in  there  to  worship,  instead  of  leaving 
his  shoes,  after  the  eastern  manner,  must  leave 
his  understanding  at  the  door ;  and  it  will  be 
well  if  he  find  it  when  he  comes  out  again." 
Who  that  thinks  deeply  and  reasons  well,  can 
actually  believe  that  a  God  of  infinite  wisdom, 
power  and  benevolence,  has  ever  formed  a 
scheme  involving  infinitely  unhappy  consequen- 
ces, or  a  benevolent  plan  that  will  ultimately 
fail  of  success  ?  And  yet  men  of  capacious 
powers  of  mind  and  large  benevolence  of  heart, 
are  found  in  Churches  where  it  is  preached  and 
believed  that  God,  with  all  his  benevolence  to 
prompt,  his  wisdom  to  plan,  and  his  power  to 
execute,  will  at  last  suff'er  a  large  portion  of  his 
oflspring  to  groan  in  ceaseless  and  endless  woe! 
When  we  meet  such  persons  on  their  way  to 

6* 


66  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

places  of  worship,  we  cannot  suppress  the  in- 
quiry, Have  they  ever  fully  examined  the  incon- 
sistent and  merciless  doctrines  they  hear  preach- 
ed, and  do  they  believe  what  they  hear  ?  The 
silent  answer  within,  is,  they  leave  something 
at  the  door  of  the  temple  before  they  enter,  and 
that  something  they  are  careful  to  carry  with 
them  in  every  other  place  ! 

The   impression   widely   obtains,    not    only 
among  the  meanly  educated  and  illiterate,  but  al- 
so among  such  as  ought  to  know  better  and  are 
"without  excuse,"  that  the  powers  of  the  human 
mind  should  not  be  as  freely  exercised,  and  with 
the  same  determination  to  follow  the  truth  wher- 
ever it  may  lead,  in  matters  of  a  religious  nature, 
as  on  other  subjects  of  inquiry.     The  sacredness 
and  importance  of  the  subject  are  made  to  inspire 
a  kind  of  superstitious  awe  ;  and  the  mind  fears 
to  investigate.     The  policy  of  spiritual  leaders 
in  other  days  has  been  marked  by  studied  eflbrts 
to  trammel  the  minds  of  men,  and  thus  render 
them  subservient  to  their  own  selfish  schemes 
and  wishes.     And  we  fear  that  the  same  policy, 
though  perhaps  dictated  by  better  feelings  and 
directed  to  more  worthy  ends,  still  has  its  prac- 
tical advocates  and  supporters.     Investigation  is 
crushed  by  the  overpowering  desire  to  sustain  a 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  67 

favorite  dogma  and  preserve  the  public  morals 
from  the  contaminations  of  error.  There  is  en- 
tirely too  much  constraint  in  canvassing  the  evi- 
dences of  religious  truth,  and  too  little  willing- 
ness to  follow  its  directions  wherever  it  may- 
lead,  and  whatever  may  be  the  consequences. 
Our  minds  should  be  utterly  divested  of  every 
such  weak  and  unmanly  feeling ;  and  every 
other  consideration  should  be  completely  absorb- 
ed in  this  one  all-important  inquiry,  What  is 
truth  ?  The  truth  is  always  safe  ;  and  we  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  a  knowledge  of  any  thing 
that  God  has  ever  revealed. 

Among  such  as  diligently  seek  to  understand 
the  truth  of  God,  one  great  source  of  error  is 
found  in  ihe  manner  in  which  many  commence 
the  labor.  Instead  of  first  acquainting  them- 
selves with  the  great  fundamental  principles  of 
truth,  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures,  and  freely 
acknowledged  by  all  reasonable  beings,  and 
tracing  them  out  in  the  light  of  reason  and  of  re- 
velation, to  their  legitimate  results,  they  begin 
in  the  middle  of  the  subject,  and  most  zealously 
labor  to  build  up  the  superstructure,  without 
stopping  to  examine  the  foundation.  And  some 
Christian   ministers  seek   to  operate  upon  the 


68  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

people,  as  a  teacher  would  upon  his  scholars,  if 
lie  should  attempt  to  instruct  them  in  the  higher 
branches  of  education,  before  he  has  taught  them 
the  alphabet !  They  commence  their  efforts  by- 
urging  men  to  the  important  duty  of  repentance; 
but  it  seems  not  to  occur  to  their  minds  that  a 
man  must  have  some  knowledge  of  the  Being 
against  whom  he  has  sinned,  before  he  can  un- 
derstandingly  exercise  repentance  toward  God. 
Even  children  are  taught  that  they  are  sinners 
before  God,  and  in  danger  of  losing  their  im- 
mortal souls,  before  they  have  ever  studied  the 
simplest  rudiments  of  religion — before  they 
know  any  thing  of  the  nature  of  the  soul  or  of 
the  Being  that  created  it !  And  some  persons 
commence,  they  know  not  where,  and  advance 
as  rapidly  as  soon  to  imagine  themselves  fully 
acquainted  with  the  great  consummation  of  God's 
moral  government,  and  the  final  destiny  of  the 
human  race ;  when  at  the  same  time  they  have 
scarcely  bestowed  a  single  thought  upon  the  ac- 
knowledged foundation  of  all  religious  truth ! 
Such  being  the  case,  and  considering  the  un- 
yielding tenacity  with  which  most  men  cling  to 
their  opinions  and  prejudices,  we  need  no  longer 
marvel  that  the  grossest  errors  in  theology  are 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  69 

embraced  and  advocated  by  those  whose  heads  are 
clear,  and  whose  minds  are  discerning  and  pen- 
etrating on  every  other  subject. 

But  to  return.  There  are,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  certain  first  principles  or  fundamental 
truths  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  that  should 
be  well  defined  and  clearly  understood,  and 
made  the  foundation  of  the  entire  superstructure 
of  our  faith.  And  having  laid  a  correct  and  per- 
manent basis,  we  may  proceed  from  one  degree 
to  another  until  we  arrive  at  true  and  satis- 
factory conclusions.  First  principles  should 
govern  our  investigations  on  every  subject ;  and 
whatever  stands  opposed  to  acknowledged  and 
known  truths,  we  may  safely  decide  has  no  rea- 
sonable claims  to  our  confidence  and  belief. 
What  do  the  Scriptures  teach  us  concerning  the 
Supreme  Being?  "God  is  love."  In  view 
of  this  simple  declaration,  which  expresses  a 
truth  immensely  important,  we  should  carefully 
exclude  from  our  credenda  every  principle  that 
stands  opposed  in  its  nature  or  tendency  to  love. 
God  is  not  divided  against  himself.  His  nature 
is  pure  and  simple,  as  it  is  holy.  And  being  love, 
he  must  be  free  from  all  absolute  hatred.  Is  the 
Deity  a  Being  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  ?     The 


70  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

same  source  responds,  "  His  understanding  is 
infinite'^ — "  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works 
from  the  beginning  of  the  loorhiy  Nothing 
has  ever  been  concealed  from  his  clear  and  all- 
searching  vision — every  event,  however  remote, 
is  present  to  his  view. 

'•  Eternity,  with  all  its  years, 
Stands  present  in  thy  view  ; 
To  thee  there's  nothing  old  appears, 
Great  God,  there's  nothing  new." 

The  destiny  of  every  human  being  was  as  fully 
known  to  his  mind  before  the  earth  was  moulded 
into  form,  as  it  will  be  when  the  trump  of  the 
arch-angel  shall  arouse  the  sleeping  dead,  and 
time  shall  be  no  more  ! 

And  what  is  the  character  of  God  ?  A  mere 
manifestation  of  his  nature,  which  is  love.  But 
his  word  answers,  "  The  Lord  is  good  to  all, 
and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works^^ 
— he  "is  kind  to  the  unthankful  and  evil.''* 
His  benevolence  and  mercy  extend  not  only  to 
the  faithful  and  just,  but  even  to  the  evil  and 
wicked  of  our  race.  And  if  his  mercy  is  over 
all  his  works,  there  lives  not  a  soul  beyond  the 
extent  and  influence  of  that  boundless  mercy. 
So  long  as  man  has  a  being,  and  in  whatever 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  71 

world  he  may  exist,  he  is  a  work  of  God,  and 
therefore  lives  within  the  sphere  of  divine  good- 
ness, tender  mercies,  and  loving-kindness.  Does 
God  devise  any  plans  in  reference  to  the  ends  of 
his  works,  and  will  the  purposes  of  his  will  un- 
failingly be  accomplished  ?  A  direct  reply 
comes  from  the  revelation  of  his  truth. — "  i/e 
doeth  according  to  his  icill  in  the  army  of  hea- 
ven^ and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth'^ — 
he  "  ivorketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  ivilV^ — "  declaring  the  end  from  the  be- 
ginning^^— and  "  ivhat soever  God  doeth,  it 
shall  be  forever :  nothing  can  be  put  to  it,  nor 
any  thing  taken  from  it.'' 

Here  then  are  plain,  but  most  essential  truths, 
that  should  be  well  understood  in  the  outset. 
These  things  should  be  firmly  fixed  in  the  mind 
before  any  progress  is  attempted  in  the  work 
of  applying  them  to  the  various  and  discordant 
doctrmes  that  prevail  in  the  world.  They  have 
the  most  direct  and  important  bearing  upon 
every  item  of  faith  to  which  we  are  required  to 
yield  the  assent  of  the  mind  and  to  embrace 
with  the  heart.  They  form,  indeed,  the  only 
true  foundation  of  rational  Christian  belief. 
Whatever  fairly  and  legitimately  results  from 
these  acknowledged  and  undoubted   premises, 


72  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

must  be  true;  while  that  which  contradicts  one 
of  these  principles,  cannot  be  otherwise  than 
false.  Let  the  learner,  then,  begin  where  he 
ought,  and  steadily  progress  in  that  light  which 
will  beam  upon  his  pathway  from  first  principles 
and  undeniable  truths,  ever  remembering  that 
error  alone  is  inconsistent,  while  one  truth  never 
contradicts  another;  and  carefully  avoiding  all 
the  jargon  and  subtleties  of  narrow-minded  and 
bigoted  schoolmen,  and  he  cannot  fail  to  em- 
brace the  great  truth  of  Christian  revelation,  that 
God  "  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to 
come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  No 
other  conclusion  can  be  reasonably  drawn  from 
the  nature,  character  and  purposes  of  the  Living 
God.  Benevolence  prompts  his  power — wisdom 
forms  the  plans  of  his  will — and  omnipotence 
will  execute  his  designs,  and  carry  into  perfect 
completion  every  intention  of  his  mind.  He  is 
above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all ;  and  no 
power  in  the  universe  can  ever  stay  his  sovereign 
hand,  or  defeat  the  accomplishment  of  all  his 
pleasure ! 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DESIGN  IN  THE  CREATION  OF  MAN. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  let  us  now  endeavor 
to  consider  the  design  of  God  in  the  creation  of 
man.  To  say  that  a  wise  being  never  acts 
without  design,  is  but  to  repeat  a  truism,  that 
will  not  be  disputed  by  any  man  who  is  capable 
of  thought.  And  as  God  is  a  being  of  infinite 
wisdom,  what  was  the  great  purpose  of  his  will, 
when  he  spake  the  world  into  existence  by  the 
word  of  his  power,  and  imparted  the  vital  energy 
to  man  ?  If  "  known  unto  God  are  all  his  works 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,"  the  ultimate 
destiny  of  the  human  race  must  have  been  em- 
braced in  this  all-comprehensive  knowledge. 
No  possible  intentions  could  render  the  end 
more  certain.  And  if  there  be  any  difference 
between  knowledge  and  design  with  God,  the 
distinction  is  so  nice  that  we  shall  not  attempt  to 
explain  it;  nor  would  the  decision  of  this  ques- 
tion affect  the  nature  of  our  subject.  The  Scrip- 
tures teach  us  that  God  both  knows  and  declares 
7 


74  UNIVERSALIST    BELIliF. 

the  end'from  the  beorinnino^.  And  we  are  now 
concerned  to  ascertain  for  what  end  the  author 
of  wisdom  gave  existence  to  man.  He  needed 
no  experiment  to'test  his  power,  to  try  his  skill, 
or  to  declare  his  greatness,  v^  He  was  indepen- 
dently glorious  and  perfectly  happy;  and  no 
possible  advantage  could  accrue  to  himself  from 
the  exercise  of  his  omnific  energies.  He  was 
certainly  a  being  of  immense  beneficence  and 
illimitable  goodness  ;"'and  if  any  principle  form- 
ed the  preponderating  power  in  his  mind,  that 
principle  was  love. 

Who  doubts  that  such  was  God,  when  the 
smilinor  morn  of  creation  dawned  in  brightness, 
and  the  light  of  Heaven  burst  in  glory  upon  the 
overspreading  darkness  of  chaotic  night  ?  He 
could  have  harbored  no  ill  will  toward  the  un- 
offending creatures  whom  he  intended  soon  to 
call  forth  into  life  from  the  unconscious  slumbers 
of  nonentity.  No  feeling  opposed  to  goodness 
and  love  found  place  in  his  pure  and  holy  mind. 
There  was  no  counsellor  to"^instru3t  him — no 
power  without  to  direct  his  will.  Existing  alone 
in  the  plenitude  of  perfect  glory  and  bliss,  he 
conceived  the  plan  and  began  the  work.  And 
the  only  reasonable  conclusion  is,  that  benevo- 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  75 

lence  prompted  his  creative  power,  while  the 
great  purpose  of  his  will  was  the  communication 
of  happiness.  In  this  conclusion,  we  rejoice  to 
believe,  that  nearly  the  whole  Christian  world 
now  heartily  concur.  The  notion  that  the  great 
and  ^00 d  God  ever  created  a  beino^  with  the  in- 
tention  of  making  it  endlessly  miserable,  is  so 
entirely  repugnant  to  every  natural  feeling  of  the 
human  heart,  and  withal  involves  such  unpro- 
voked and  wanton  cruelty,  that  few  are  so  blind- 
ed by  error  and  sufficiently  hardened  against 
God  and  their  fellows,  as  to  admit  such  a  thought 
into  the  articles  of  their  faith.  We  know  that  this 
most  unmerciful  and  horrible  dogma  is  embody- 
ed  in  a  manual  which  many  still  professedly  re- 
ceive as  the  standard  of  their  faith.  But  even 
they  will  generally  deny  this  doctrine,  or  seek 
to  modify  its  meaning  by  a  species  of  reasoning, 
which  at  once  evinces  their  own  deep  and  utter 
abhorrence  of  such  blasphemous  error  ! 

The  prevailing  notion  throughout  Christen- 
dom, is  that  God  originally  designed  that  man's 
existence  should  be  a  blessing — that  all  men 
should  ultimately  be  raised  to  immortal  life  and 
heavenly  joys.  This  belief,  which  works  like 
leaven,  and  will  yet  purify  the  Church  of  men- 


76  VNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

strous  errors,  has  even  found  its  way  into 
Churches  still  denominated  Calvinistic.  And 
the  followers  of  the  Genevan  Reformer  find 
themselves  obliged  no  longer  to  proclaim  in 
"  high  places"  what  their  Confession  of  Faith 
still  declares,  that  God  from  all  eternity  elected 
some  men  to  everlasting  life,  and  passed  by  and 
fore-ordained  the  remainder  to  dishonor  and 
misery  !  A  sentiment  more  destitute  of  every 
characteristic  of  loveliness,  aud  more  replete 
with  cruelty,  never  emanated  from  the  blindness 
of  superstition  or  the  corruption  of  error ;  and 
it  is  only  befitting  the  fabled  abodes  of  darkness 
and  of  demons  !  We  say  nothing  of  the  charac- 
ter of  its  believers — they  are  generally  as  good 
as  other  people,  and  perhaps  far  better  than  our- 
selves— but  we  speak  of  the  sentiment  itself; 
and  pronounce  it  a  libel  upon  the  character  of 
God,  a  disgrace  to  the  very  name  of  religion, 
and  a  foul  reproach  to  humanity  itself!  We 
are  not  astonished  that  the  advocates  and  be- 
lievers of  this  notion  should  so  rapidly  decrease 
in  number ;  and  we  think  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
is  not  needed  to  divine  that  the  period  will  soon 
come  when  no  man  in  civilized  life  will  dis- 
honor his  Maker  by  giving  utterance  to  such  a 
thousfht ! 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  77 

Proof  of  the  position  is  no  longer  demanded, 
that  God  commenced  the  work  of  creation  with 
the  design  of  rendering  every  man  a  gainer  by 
existence.  Nay,  the  fact  is  equally  accredited 
that  he  intended  the  vast  family  of  man  for  a 
higher  and  happier — an  immortal  and  heavenly 
existence  beyond  all  the  limits  of  change  and 
decay.  His  designs  stretched  into  the  spiritual 
world ;  and  he  constituted  man  a  living  soul, 
and  impressed  him  with  his  own  divine  likeness, 
with  a  view  to  his  ultimate  and  unchangeable 
destiny,  *'  Knoivn  unto  God  are  all  his  works 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world.'"  His  know- 
ledge compassed  the  oid,  as  well  as  the  begin- 
ning of  man.  The  present  state  of  being  is  but 
the  incipient  stage  of  man's  existence  ;  and  his 
high  destination  as  the  child  of  God  will  be  at- 
tained in  that  world  where  men  and  angels  are 
equal,  and  share  together  the  unspeakable  bliss 
of  heaven. 

It  would  be  an  impeachment  of  the  wisdom 
and  benevolence  of  God  to  suppose  that  his 
actual  designs  toward  man  extend  no  farther 
than  the  present  life,  and  that  our  condition  in 
the  future  and  permanent  state  of  existence  will 
be  determined  by  mere  fortuity.     Paul,  in  his 


78  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 


eloquent  address  from  Mars'  hill  to  the  Athenian 
people,  after  declaring  the  existence  of  that  God 
in  whom  is  the  breath  of  all  mankind,  proceeded 
to  testify  of  his  designs  toward  our  race,  saying, 
*'  And  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men 
for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath 
determined  the  times  before  appointed,  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation.^^  This  determina- 
tion of  God,  made  of  old,  had  respect  to  the 
places  and  limits  of  the  habitations  of  men  on 
the  earth.  And  shall  we  suppose  that  God 
would  make  such  arrangements  with  reference 
to  the  temporal  existence  of  man,  and  yet  have 
no  certain  determinations  beforehand  in  his  own 
mind  in  regard  to  the  final  and  permanent  life  cf 
the  heirs  of  immortality  ?  The  Scriptures  forbid 
the  thought  that  God  has  any  designs  of  limited 
extent,  or  that  any  thing  affecting  our  ultimate 
interests  was  ever  with  him  a  matter  of  ?mrer- 
tainty. 

We  read  in  the  4Gtii  of  Isaiah,  "I  am  God, 
and  there  is  none  like  me,  declaring  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the 
things  that  are  not  yet  done,  saying.  My  coun- 
sel shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure." 
We  do  not  affirm  that  this  lano;ua<re  was  uttered 


IINIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  70 

with  particular  reference  to  the  final  destiny  of 
any  man.  But  it  plainly  asserts  the  fact  that 
the  purposes  of  God  extend  from  the  commence- 
ment of  his  works  to  the  end  which  he  designs 
to  accomplish.  And  we  think  the  spirit  of  the 
passage  fully  justifies  the  conclusion  that  the 
same  is  true  in  reference  to  the  great  end  for 
which  man  was  called  into  existence.  The  end 
of  man  is  not  here  attained ;  and  the  present  life, 
compared  to  the  future,  is  scarcely  more 
than  the  shadow  to  the  substance.  We  can 
think  of  no  reason  why  man  should  form  any 
exception  to  the  works,  of  which  God  declares 
the  end  from  the  beginning.  But  in  view  of  the 
instructions  of  our  Savior,  that  a  man  is  much 
better  than  a  sheep,  and  that  God  will  much 
more  certainly  feed  and  clothe  his  children,  than 
supply  the  fowls  of  the  air  with  food,  we  may 
reasonably  conclude  that  man  stands  pre-eminent 
among  the  works  of  God,  of  which  the  end  was 
determined  from  ancient  times  by  an  immutable 
counsel ! 

But  we  need  not  dwell  upon  this  point.  It  is 
certain,  and  the  fact  is  not  disputed,  that  God 
designed  the  end  of  man,  when  his  sovereign  fiat 
went  forth,  and  the  shapeless  void  of  chaos  gave 
place  to  the  smiling  face  of  creation.     And'the 


80  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

fact  is  equally  incontrovertible,  and  almost  to  the 
same  extent  certainly  believed,  that  the  end  de- 
signed was  compatible  with  goodness  and  love, 
and  contemplated  the  immortal  glory  and  endless 
felicity  of  the  human  race. 

Keeping  these  things  distinctly  in  view,  let  us 
now  endeavor  to  sum  up  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  matter.  The  premises,  which  are  uni- 
versally acknowledged,  may  be  considered  irre- 
futable. God  is  a  Being  of  infinite  wisdom, 
power  and  goodness  ;  and  he  designed  man  for 
ultimate  happiness.  These  are  the  premises ; 
and  there  must  be  a  fault  somewhere  if  we  come 
to  opposing  conclusions.  And  it  will  be  per- 
ceived that  the  grand  difference  between  our  op- 
posers  and  ourselves  is  found  in  the  different  re- 
sults at  which  we  arrive  in  reasoning  from  the 
same  general  principles. 

The  importance  of  the  subject  will  justify  a 
slight  repetition.  God  is  perfectly  wise,  pow- 
erful and  good.  When  he  had  completed  the 
handywork  of  creation,  and  pronounced  the 
whole  "  very  good,"  he  designed  all  mankind 
for  a  happy  destiny.  This  truth  is  clearly 
taught  and  most  happily  expressed,  in  the  first 
question  and  answer  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 


UXIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  81 

bly's  Catechism — "  Q.  What  is  the  chief  and 
highest  end  of  man?  A.  Man's  chief  and  high- 
est end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  fully  to  enjoy 
HIM  forever."  Such  is  the  end  for  which  man 
was  designed  by  his  Maker.  And  the  grand 
question  to  be  settled,  is,  will  God's  original  in- 
tentions be  accomplished  ?  or  will  his  designs  be 
defeated,  and  his  purposes  annulled  ?  We 
maintain  that  God's  counsel  will  stand,  and  that 
he  will  do  all  his  pleasure  ;  while  others  contend 
that  some  men  will  never  reach  the  end  for 
which  God  designed  them  ! 

Our  view  of  the  subject  appears  consistent 
with  itself,  and  with  the  acknowledged  princi- 
ples from  which  it  is  drawn — its  opposite  is  at 
utter  variance  with  the  premises  agreed  upon, 
and  forms  a  strange  anomaly  in  reasoning  from 
propositions  to  conclusions.  If  the  infinitely 
wise,  powerful  and  benevolent  Jehovah  at  last 
fails  in  the  execution  of  his  holy  designs,  to 
what  conceivable  cause  shall  that  deplorable  fail- 
ure be  attributed?  Neither  disposition  nor  abil- 
ity is  lacking  on  his  part.  Why  then,  we  ask, 
will  his  kind  and  gracious  intentions  never  be 
fulfilled?  Are  we  told  that  man  is  ^free-agent  ? 
But  such  an  answer,  though  it  has  silenced  m,any. 


82 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF 


gives  no  satisfaction  to  the  thinking  mind,  that 
will  not  stop  short  of  the  truth.  Suppose  man 
to  be  perfectly  free — far  more  free  than  the 
winds  of  heaven,  must  the  purposes  and  designs 
of  the  all-wise  and  omnipotent  God,  on  that  ac- 
count, be  of  doubtful  fulfilment,  and  liable  to  ul- 
timate failure  ?  Has  man  obtained  any  new  and 
wonderful  powers,  of  which  God  knew  nothing 
when  he  formed  the  plan  of  creation,  and  de- 
signed our  race  to  glorify  their  Maker  "  and 
fally  to  enjoy  him  forever  ?^^ 

We  cannot  possibly  perceive  that  the  alleged 
fact  of  man's  free-agency  has  any  necessary  con- 
nexion with  our  subject.  Whatever  agency 
man  may  possess,  none  will  doubt  that  it  has 
been  derived  from  God,  and  was  conferred  for 
wise  and  benevolent  purposes,  compatible  with 
the  glorious  and  happy  end  for  which  man  was 
designed.  But  to  suppose  that  our  Maker  has 
given  his  creatures  a  power,  by  which  his  own 
plans  will  be  thwarted,  and  his  best  designs  for- 
ever defeated,  is  certainly  to  charge  him  with 
great  folly  and  improvidence !  And  yet  many 
seem  to  suppose  that  a  mere  assertion,  touching 
the  freedom  of  the  human  will,  is  abundantly 
sufficient  to  silence  all  inquiry  and  settle  every 
dispute ! 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  83 

But  must  we  believe  that  the  fulfilment  of 
God's  designs  depends  upon  the  voluntary  but 
uncertain  choice  of  man  ?  Shall  our  Maker  be 
robbed  of  his  glory,  and  his  feeble  creatures 
clothed  with  the  attributes  of  divinity  ?  And 
shall  we  abandon  all  the  premises  upon  which 
we  have  agreed,  and  look  to  frail  worms  of  the 
dust  for  the  termination  of  works,  commenced 
by  the  Sovereign  Lord  ?  We  cannot  sanction 
such  reasoning.  And  we  seriously  doubt 
whether  it  really  satisfies  any  candid,  unpreju- 
diced and  reasoning  mind ! 

Are  we  asked,  if  God  really  designed  all  men 
for  happiness,  why  are  not  all  happy  now  ? 
We  answer,  men  have  not  here  attained  to  their 
final  end — they  are  still  subjects  of  divine  disci- 
pline— and  though  they  are  sinful  and  suffering, 
and  now  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God,  the 
promise  has  been  given  and  the  purpose  declared, 
"  that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times 
he  mio^ht  o;ather  tocrether  in  one  all  thinors  in 
Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are 
on  earth,  even  in  him."  Temporarys  in  and  suf- 
fering cannot  defeat  the  divine  intentions  in  re- 
gard to  the  end  of  man.  But  when  it  is  decla- 
red that  m:in^s  final  condition  will  be  dishonor- 


84  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

able  and  miserable,  it  is  supposed  that  God  will 
fail  ill  his  undertaking,  and  eternally  behold  the 
monuments  of  his  defeat! 

"  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works  from 
the  beginning  of  the  worlds  What  he  knows 
cannot  be  uncertain — what  he  has  purposed  can 
never  change.  And  Paul  speaks  of  the  immu- 
tability of  his  counsel,  confirmed  by  the  oath  of 
Him  who  cannot  lie.  The  only  reasonable  con- 
clusion, then,  is,  that  whatever  may  be  the  sins 
and  sufferings  of  man,  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
will  at  last  be  accomplished,  and  the  vast  frater- 
nity of  man  exalted  to  that  divine  and  heavenly 
life  for  which  our  Maker  at  first  designed  us. 
This  glorious  consummation  is  declared  in  the 
record  of  divine  truth :  for  we  are  there  certified 
that  every  knee  shall  bow,  and  every  tongue 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father.  And  we  are  also  assured  that 
when  the  last  enemy  of  man  shall  be  destroyed, 
and  all  men  are  made  alive  in  Christ,  this  same 
God  and  Father  shall  be  all  in  all. 


CHAPTER    Vril. 

PATERxMTY  OF  GOD. 

We  have  already  considered  the  design  of 
God  in  the  creation  of  man.  Reasoning  from 
the  acknowledged  nature  and  attributes  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  the  conclusion  seemed  una- 
voidably to  follow  that  he  originally  intended  all 
men  for  ultimate  happiness,  and  also  that  his  be- 
nevolent purposes  cannot  possibly  fail  in  the 
end.  These  conclusions  are  the  legitimate  de- 
ductions of  sober  reason  and  plain  common 
sense  ;  and  no  man  who  admits  the  correctness 
of  the  premises,  can  possibly  avoid  them,  except 
by  a  strange  and  unauthorised  course  of  reason- 
ing, that  would  be  utterly  condemned  by  all  in 
regard  to  any  other  subject.  We  consider  the 
argument  referred  to  unanswerable,  except  on 
the  supposition  that  there  is  chance  in  the  eco- 
nomy of  God.  If  nothing  is  certain  in  the  divine 
mind— nothing  really  known  unto  God  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world—and  if  man's  immOrtal 
8 


86  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

destiny  depends  upon  his  own  voluntary  but 
very  uncertain  choice — then  it  must  be  admitted 
that  no  reasonable  argument  in  proof  of  either 
universal  or  partial  salvation  can  be  drawn 
from  the  nature  and  attributes  of  God,  or 
from  his  kind  intentions  when  he  first  in- 
spired man  with  the  breath  of  life !  If  all 
is  uncertainly,  the  clearest  reasoner  is  as  likely 
to  be  wrong  as  right ;  and  according  to  this 
notion,  even  the  Scriptures  must  be  considered 
a  very  imperfect  rule  of  faith.  Investigation  is 
no  longer  necessary;  and  we  need  only  wait 
patiently  to  ascertain  the  final  issue  of  the 
strange  and  unaccountable  workings  of  chance  ! 
But  we  have  clearly  proved  that  the  Scrip- 
tures entirely  disallow  of  any  thing  like  uncer- 
tainty or  chance  in  thn  mind  of  God ;  and 
certify  us  that  all  his  works  are  known  unto  him 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world — that  he  de- 
clares the  end  from  the  beginning — and  that 
while  his  counsel  shall  stand,  he  will  do  all  his 
pleasure.  And  our  argument,  which  defies  re- 
futation, derives  all  its  stability  and  force  from 
these  manifest  truths  of  the  divine  word.  In 
acknowledgment  of  the  premises,  no  man  can 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  we  have  drawn,  except 


UiMVERSALIST   BELIEF-  87 

by  a  gross  departure  from  Scripture  truth, and  from 
every  principle  of  sound  reason.  We  can  never 
be  driven  from  our  position  by  the  senseless  cry 
of*'  Fatalism."  We  believe  that  God,  and  not 
"Fate,"  is  the  Governor  of  all  worlds  and  the 
sovereign  disposer  of  every  event.  We  believe 
that  no  freedom  or  power  in  man  can  thwart  any 
of  his  purposes  or  defeat  any  of  his  undertakings. 
And  we  believe  that  all  his  promises  will  be  ful- 
filled— all  his  designs  executed — and  all  his  be- 
nevolent intentions  accomplished  in  the  eventual 
glory  and  happiness  of  all  mankind.  And  if  all 
this  constitutes  "  Fatalism,"  we  would  rather  be 
"  Fatalists"  than  believers  in  chance  ! 

We  shall  now  consider  the  parental  character 
of  the  Divine  Being,  and  produce  the  argument 
derived  from  this  relation  of  God  to  man  in  proof 
of  universal  salvation.  We  have  an  interesting 
subject.  And  we  hope  to  treat  it  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  appeal  at  once  both  to  reason  and  affec- 
tion ;  that  while  the  judgment  is  convinced,  the 
heart  may  be  improved. 

We  find  a  most  clear  and  beautiful  synopsis 
of  Christian  faith  in  the  4th  chapter  of  Ephe- 
sians.  The  whole  substance  of  the  matter  is 
here  brought  distinctly  into  view  witliin  a  very 


88  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

small  compass.  And  all  that  we  are  required 
to  believe  is  comprised  in  the  several  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  doctrine  here  enumerated. 
**  There  is"  (says  the  apostle)  "  one  body,  and  one 
spirit,  even  as  ye  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your 
calling :  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one 
God  and  Father  of  all,  Avho  is  above  all,  and 
through  all,  and  in  you  all."  This  "  one  body" 
is  the  human  race.  Jesus  Christ  is  declared  to 
"be  the  head  of  every  man."  All  men,  there- 
fore, are  constituent  members  of  a  common  body. 
This  "one  spirit"  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  the 
spirit  of  divine  truth,  that  sanctifies  and  regene- 
rates the  heart  of  man.  This  "  one  hope"  is  of 
immortality,  and  is  sure  and  steadfast  as  an  an- 
chor of  the  soul  upon  the  sea  of  mortal  life. 
This  "  one  Lord"  is  Jesus  Christ  "  the  Son  of 
the  Living  God"  and"  the  Savior  of  the  world." 
"  He  is  Lord  of  all,"  both  the  living  and  the 
dead.  And  of  all  that  the  Father  hath  given 
him  he  will  lose  nothing,  but  raise  it  up  again 
at  the  last  day.  This  "  one  faith"  is  the  faith 
of  Abraham,  which  embraces  all  the  nations, 
families  and  kindreds  of  the  earth,  and  contem- 
plates the  final  blessedness  of  all  mankind  in  the 
heavenly  nature  of  the  second  man,  even  the 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  89 

quickening  spirit  of  immortal  life.  This  "one 
baptism"  is  that  which  was  merely  prefigured 
by  the  immersions  in  water  of  the  Baptist,  and 
it  is  the  baptism  of  the  soul  into  the  spirit  of 
divine  truth,  grace  and  love.  And  this  "one 
God"  is  the  Father  of  all  spirits  ;  and  he  "  is 
above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  you  all."  In 
him  is  the  breath  of  all  mankind,  and  unto  him 
belong  the  issues  from  death.  All  now  live  in 
him  ;  and  when  the  Messiah's  mediatorial  king- 
dom shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  Father,  this 
one  God  shall  '■'be  all  in  all  J" 

Such  is  briefly  the  substance  of  Christian 
faith — of  the  faith  that  we  cherish,  and  in  which 
we  rejoice  with  inexpressible  joy.  It  embraces 
all  that  benevolence  can  require,  and  fully  satis- 
fies every  pure  and  good  desire  of  the  human 
soul.  Nothing  short  of  this  faith  can  give  per- 
fect rest  and  peace  to  the  heart.  And  while  we 
richly  enjoy  its  blessings,  we  would  zealously 
labor  to  bring  the  votaries  of  error  and  the  vic- 
tims of  tormentinar  fear  under  its  beni2:n  and 
happy  influence.  We  know  that  Christian  peo- 
ple cannot  be  satisfied  with  the  unmerciful  dog- 
ma of  endless  woe.  They  cannot  rejoice  -with 
a  fulness  of  joy  in  the  awful  prospect  of  infinite 

8* 


90  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

and  ceaseless  agonies  for  kindred  and  friends,  or 
even  for  any  soul  of  man.  Many  of  them  are 
seeking  and  feeling  after  a  better — a  gospel  faith. 
And  we  desire  to  assist  them  in  their  efforts, 
and  to  do  them  good.  It  is  a  pity  that  any  man 
who  has  ever  experienced  the  influence  of  a 
Savior's  love,  should  feel  obliged  to  believe  in 
violation  of  every  benevolent  affection  of  his  na- 
ture that  God  will  doom  some  of  his  offspring  to 
the  suffering  of  endless  and  unmerciful  torments! 
And  we  pray  God  to  assist  us  in  our  endeavors 
to  deliver  our  Christian  brethren  from  the  power 
of  a  wretched  heathen  dogma,  and  enable  them 
to  rejoice  in  that  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  which  is  good  tidings  of  great  joy  that 
shall  be  to  all  people  ! 

We  are  informed  in  the  Scripture  record  of 
the  creation  of  the  world,  that  man  was  created 
in  the  image  of  God.  We  are  not  taught  that 
any  other  creature  of  earth  received  the  impress 
of  the  divine  likeness.  All  came  into  being 
through  the  same  omnific  energies,  and  were 
equally  adapted  to  an  earthly  existence.  As 
animals  all  may  be  considered  the  mere  creatures 
or  earth,  and  of  a  day.  But  in  ascending  the 
scale  of  being  from  the  meanest  form  of  animal 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  91 

existence  up  to  the  highest  order  of  creatures 
that  live  on  the  earth,  we  find  that  immortal 
mind  holds  connexion  with  flesh  and  blood,  and 
that  there  are  ties  of  kindred  that  bind  man  to 
angels  and  to  God  !  The  divine  image  is  not 
found  in  the  form  and  fashion  of  the  earthly- 
man,  nor  in  any  thing  that  gives  us  alliance  to 
the  brutes  that  perish.  If  we  were  but  earthly 
beings  we  should  be  no  more  than  beasts  of  a  high 
order.  It  was  in  reference  merely  to  our  animal 
nature  that  Solomon  said,  "  a  man  hath  no  pre- 
eminence above  a  beast."  But  we  are  creatures 
not  only  of  intellect,  but  also  of  moral  affections 
and  religious  sentiments.  And  the  likeness  of 
the  invisible  God  is  impressed  upon  the  inner 
man  ;  and  is  "  the  spirit  of  the  Divinity  that  stirs 
within  us."  "There  is  a  spirit  in  man  ;  and  the 
inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth  them  under- 
standing." 

The  Psalmist  in  speaking  of  the  exalted  dig- 
nity of  our  race  among  the  works  of  creation, 
declares  .  that  God  has  made  man  a  little  loiver 
than  the  angels^  and  crowned  him  with  glory 
and  honor.  Ps.  viii.  5.  And  our  Lord  and 
Savior  has  certified  us  that  in  the  resurrection 
state  we  shall  be  equal  unto  the  angels.     Luke 


92  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

XX.  35.  In  view  of  these  declarations  of  divine 
truth,  we  feel  authorised  to  affirm  that  there  is 
in  man  a  combination  of  earthly  and  of  angelic 
existence.  We  are  now  lower  than  the  angels, 
because  we  live  in  an  incipient  state  of  being, 
and  are  subject  to  the  influences  of  the  flesh,  to 
temptations,  sufl'erings  and  death.  Even  our 
Savior,  in  his  humiliation,  and  during  the  time 
when  he  lived  and  died  in  the  world,  "  was 
made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels."  Heb.  ii. 
9.  He  has  ascended  above  all  things,  and  the 
angels  of  God  worship  him.  We  shall  in  like 
manner  ascend ;  but  not  to  the  same  height 
with  the  exalted  Prince  of  life  and  the  Savior  of 
the  world.  We  shall  become  "  equal  unto  the 
angels" — he  is  greater  than  all,  "and  little  less 
than  God." 

We  view  man  as  the  connecting  link  between 
irrational  existence  and  angelic  nature — between 
earth  and  heaven.  And  though  he  is  subject  to 
feelings  and  passions  that  belong  to  brutes,  there 
are  principles  in  his  nature  that  give  him  kin- 
dred to  the  angels  and  affinity  to  God.  His  re- 
ligious faculties  distinguish  him  above  all  other 
earthly  creatures;  and  his  powers  of  progression 
bear  sufficient  testimony  to  the  fact  that  his  na- 


UXIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  93 

ture  is  not  only  higher,  but  different  from  that 
which  is  possessed  by  any  other  inhabitant  of 
the  world.  He  possesses  peculiar  feelings  and 
powers,  of  which  there  is  not  the  slightest  mani- 
festation in  any  other  creature  of  earth.  No 
possible  limits  can  be  assigned  to  his  capabilities 
of  improvement ;  while  progression  is  a  thing 
entirely  unknown  among  all  other  creatures  with 
which  we  are  acquainted.  He  naturally  seeks 
after  the  Being  that  made  him;  and  "  as  the  hart 
panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth  his 
soul  after  the  Living  God."  And  his  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  faculties  abundantly  attest 
his  filial  relation  to  "  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh." 

As  man  was  created  in  the  image  of  his  Ma- 
ker, we  find  that  the  Scriptures  speak  of  God  as 
the  Father  of  our  race.  The  mere  act  of  com- 
municating a  revelation  to  the  world,  was  a  plain 
recognition  on  the  part  of  the  Deity  of  this  rela- 
tion. He  addresses  men  as  his  children  ;  and 
requires  of  all  that  obedience  and  love  which  the 
filial  obligations  impose.  To  brutes  he  reveals 
nothing  ;  and  the  mere  instincts  of  their  nature 
are  the  rules  of  their  lives.  They  are  incapable 
of  any   spiritual   communion   with   God ;  and 


94  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

could  be  profited  by  no  new  manifestation  of  the 
Power  that  gave  them  existence.  But  man  has 
been  visited  with  messages  of  truth  and  love 
from  Heaven,  and  addressed  as  one  bearing  high 
and  holy  kindred  to  his  Maker.  That  superi- 
ority by  which  man  is  thus  distinguished,  is  the 
likeness  or  image  of  God.  It  is  found  in  our 
affections,  our  powers,  and  our  capacities.  This 
image  of  the  Divinity  is  the  chief  glory  of  our 
nature,  and  the  only  thing  that  constitutes  us  the 
children  of  God.  It  is  an  emanation  from  hea- 
ven, though  dwelling  in  the  flesh.  And  when 
it  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corrup- 
tion, and  clothed  with  an  immortal  body,  it  will 
rise  to  an  equality  wdth  the  angels,  and  be  in  the 
highest  and  most  perfect  sense,  the  child  of  God. 
The  paternity  of  God  was  not  clearly  reveal- 
ed and  fully  realized  by  man  under  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  Old  Testament.  He  was  received 
rather  as  a  Sovereign  Ruler  and  Judge,  than  as 
a  Father ;  and  to  a  great  extent  rather  feared 
than  loved.  He  was  clothed  with  majesty  and 
terror,  and  his  name  was  an  awful  sound.  His 
worshippers  approached  him  with  feelings  of 
dread,  and  not  with  the  confidence  and  trust  of 
children.     For  many  ages  so  much  as  the  name 


UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF.  95 

of  Father  seems  not  to  have  been  applied  by  man 
to  his  Maker.  Moses,  we  believe,  first  used 
this  appellation  in  reference  to  the  Deity,  in  his 
farewell  address  to  the  people  of  Israel.  But 
the  name  appears  to  have  been  mentioned  in 
that  case  with  but  little  understanding  of  its  ho- 
ly and  endearing  charms.  It  occurs  occasion- 
ally afterwards  throughout  the  ancient  scriptures  ; 
and  perhaps  some  of  the  Seers  and  Prophets  en- 
joyed a  tolerable  understanding  of  the  paternity 
of  God  to  the  human  family.  But  we  think  the 
mass  of  the  Jewish  people  knew  but  very  little 
of  this  relation  of  God,  and  had  no  thought  of 
worshipping  him  as  a  Father.  "  For  the  law 
was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came 
by  Jesus  Christ." 

When,  therefore,  we  come  to  the  better  and 
more  perfect  revelation  of  the  Gospel,  we  find 
that  the  object  of  our  devotions  is  represented  in 
the  parental  character.  Jesus  teaches  us  to 
worship  the  Father,  and  to  pray  to  our  Father 
who  is  in  heaven.  This  relation  of  God  to  man 
is  constantly  and  prominently  set  forth  through- 
out the  whole  of  the  new  covenant  of  promise ; 
and  every  other  relation  meets  in  and  harmo- 
nizes with  the  character  of  a  Father.     One  of 


96  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

the  excellencies  of  the  Gospel  above  the  older 
Scriptures,  is  foujid  in  its  clearer  revelations  and 
plainer  instructions  with  respect  to  the  relation 
that  subsists  between  God  and  the  human  race. 
The  veil  that  formerly  obscured  the  Deity  from 
the  vision  of  man,  has  been  rent  in  twain  and 
taken  away  ;  and  he  now  appears  m  the  full 
light  of  the  Gospel  as  the  father. 

But  an  inquiry  of  vast  importance  is  here  sug- 
gested to  the  mind.  How  far  does  the  paternal 
relation  of  God  extend  ?  How  many  of  our  race 
are  his  children  ?  We  desire  to  answer  these 
questions  in  the  spirit  of  candor,  and  according 
to  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures.  And  we 
need  not  say  that  a  vitally  important  point  of 
doctrine  is  involved  in  the  answer.  We  are  to 
inquire  whether  the  relation  of  which  we  speak 
is  really  natural,  or  merely  adventitious — whether 
it  is  similar  to  that  which  exists  between  pa- 
rent and  child  on  earth,  or  something  that  grows 
out  of  certain  conditions  of  the  mind  of  man,  and 
is  uncertain  in  its  continuance. 

A  few  passages  of  the  New  Testament  may 
properly  be  introduced  in  this  place.  We  are 
informed  in  the  23d  chapter  of  Matthew,  that 
our   Savior   addressed   a   multitude   of  people, 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  97 

among  whom  were  his  own  disciples,  and  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  saying,  "But  be  not  ye 
called   Rabbi :  for  one   is   your   Master,    even 
Christ ;  and  all  ye  are  brethren.     And  call  no 
man  your  father  upon  the  earth  :for  one  is  your 
Father,  ivhich  is  in  heaven.'^''     In  this  place 
Jesus  certainly  declared  that  his  friends  and  ene- 
mies were  brethren,  and  therefore  members  of 
the  same  family;  and  that  the  same  God  was 
the  Father  of  them  all.     And  if  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  who  were  influenced  by  an  evil  spirit, 
and  were  estranged  from  truth  and  righteous- 
ness, were  really  the  children  of  God,  this  re- 
lation could  not  have  been  the  mere  effect  of  cir- 
cumstances.    They    had  performed   no    work 
sufficient  to  secure  the  paternity  of  the  Lord — 
there  was  no  conformity  of  life  in  them  to  the 
requisitions  of  the  Gospel,  that  could  ever  have 
merited  or  produced  this  relation.     And  yet  so 
far  as  the  actual  relation  was  concerned,  no  dis- 
tinction was  made  between  them  and  the  obedi- 
ent disciples  of  the   Master.     They  sustained 
different  characters,  it  is  true  ;  and  in  a  certain 
sense,   that  all  can  understand,   and  which  we 
shall  hereafter  explain,   the  enemies  of  Christ 
were  not  the  children  of  God.    But  if  the  whole 
9 


98  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

multitude  addressed  were  not  in  reality  the 
members  of  one  family  and  the  children  of  a 
common  Father,  our  Lord  employed  language 
that  did  not  express  his  meaning,  and  which  we 
are  unable  to  understand. 

Again,  we  learn  from  the  17th  chap,  of  Acts, 
that  when  Paul  preached  the  Gospel  in  Athens, 
he  found  the  men  of  that  city  exceedingly  igno- 
rant and  superstitious  ;  so  much  so  indeed  that 
they  reared  an  altar  and  rendered  devotions  to  a 
God,  of  whom  they  professed  to  have  no  know- 
ledge. The  apostle  declared  to  them  the  true 
and  living  God  ;  and  also  sanctioned  the  sublime 
sentiment  of  one  of  their  own  poets,  that  man, 
irrespective  of  circumstances  or  character,  is  the 
child  of  God.  Paul  said,  "  For  in  him  [God] 
we  live  and  move,  and  have  our  being  ;  as  cer- 
tain also  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  *  For  loe 
also  are  his  offspring.^  "  The  sentiment  of  the 
poet  was  thus  confirmed,  and  sealed  with  the 
truth  of  inspiration.  The  Athenians  had  not 
become  the  children  of  God  by  tlie  exercise  of 
repentance,  the  performance  of  good  works,  and 
the  adoption  of  the  spirit  of  truth.  They  did 
not  even  know  God ;  but  still  they  were  his 
ofTspring.     And  surely  if  the  Athenians  in  that 


UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF.  99 

State  of  mental  blindness  and  ignorance  in  which 
Paul  found  them,  were  the  children  of  God,  our 
filial  relation  to  the  Father  of  spirits  naturally 
exists,  and  is  not  the  mere  effect  of  adventitious 
circumstances.  What  was  it  that  constituted 
them  the  offspring  of  the  Deity  ?  The  posses- 
sion of  that  divine  image  which  God  impressed 
upon  our  race,  and  thus  declared  us  a  branch  of 
that  "  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth,"  of 
which  he  is  the  Parent !  And  as  they  were 
God's  children,  it  may  in  truth  be  said  in  refer- 
ence to  all  men,  "  for  one  is  your  Father,  which 
is  in  heaven." 

Again,  in  the  8th  chapter  of  Romans,  Paul 
says,  "The  spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  The 
fact  here  stated  is  worthy  of  particular  attention. 
The  spirit  is  declared  to  be  a  witness,  and  the 
testimony  which  it  bore  was  that  the  Christians 
were  the  children  of  God.  Truth  must  exist 
before  the  witness  testifies;  and  the  office  of  a 
witness  is  not  to  create  truth,  but  to  make 
known  that  which  is  true.  If  Paul  and  his 
Christian  brethren  had  not  been  the  actual  chil- 
dren of  God  before  the  witness  testified,  the  wit- 
ness would  have  borne  false  testimony.      But 


100  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

they  were  the  offspring  of  the  Deity,  and  the 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  truth  fully  acquainted 
them  with  this  fact,  and  enabled  them  to  enjoy  the 
relation  of  children.  If  a  man  have  not  this 
spirit  within  him,  he  is  a  stranger  from  God ; 
and  although  he  is  in  fact  a  child  of  the  Father 
of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  he  cannot  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  sonship.  The  witness,  therefore, 
makes  no  change  in  the  truth  itself;  but  simply 
acquaints  man  with  that  which  is  true.  All  the 
change  takes  place  in  man  himself;  and  in 
coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  he  re- 
joices to  find  in  God  a  benevolent  Parent.  The 
spirit  bears  the  same  testimony  to  all  who  re- 
ceive it ;  and  in  every  case  it  is  equally  true  : 
for  God  is  the  Father  of  all. 

Once  more,  Paul  is  equally  explicit  in  decla- 
ring the  universal  extent  of  the  divine  paternity, 
in  Ephesians  iv.  6,  where  he  testifies  that  there 
is  "one  God  and  Father  of  all. ^^  We  find  no- 
thing in  the  connexion  of  this  passage  to  limit 
its  signification  to  any  portion  of  the  human 
race ;  but  the  nature  of  the  subject  plainly  re- 
quires that  it  should  be  understood  in  the  fullest 
sense.  As  certainly  as  "there  is  one  Lord, 
one  faith,  one  baptism,"  there  is  "  one  God  and 


UNIVERSALIS!  BELIEF.  101 

Father  of  all^  This  declaration  is  so  plain 
and  so  manifesdy  expresses  the  universal  pater- 
nity of  the  Supreme  Being,  that  we  can  offer  no 
comment,  and  none  is  needed  to  elucidate  its 
meaning. 

We  are  aware  of  the  common  opinion  that  the 
divine  image  has  been  lost  in  man  by  reason  of 
sin.  But  upon  what  plausible  grounds  this 
opinion  is  founded  we  have  never  been  informed. 
The  Scriptures  declare  that  man  was  created  in 
the  image  of  his  Maker ;  but  we  have  never 
been  able  to  find  the  passage  which  declares  that 
this  image  has  ever  been  lost.  James  declared 
in  his  day  that  men  were  "made  after  the  simi- 
litude of  God."  Jas.  iii.  9.  If  men  had  not 
ceased  to  be  created  in  the  image  of  C4od  at  that 
time,  we  should  like  to  be  informed  when  so 
great  a  misfortune  befel  our  race. 

But  this  talk  about  man  having  lost  the  divine 
image  is  unworthy  of  notice.  As  well  might 
we  say  that  man  has  ceased  to  be  a  man.  If 
any  one  of  our  race  is  not  a  child  of  God,  that 
individual  is  perfecdy  free  from  all  filial  obliga- 
tions to  his  Maker,  and  owes  no  more  obedience 
Ihan  a  beast.  He  is  lost  from  our  race,  and 
holds  no  fraternal  connexion  with  the  human 
9* 


102  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

family.  But  the  absurdity  of  such  a  notion  is 
too  glaring  to  require  formal  confutation.  And 
it  would  seem  that  no  man  who  is  at  all  conver- 
sant with  the  Scriptures,  and  who  ever  takes  the 
pains  to  think,  could  harbor  a  supposition  so 
meanly  preposterous. 

We  may,  however,  be  reminded  of  the  fact 
that  the  Scriptures  speak  of  some  men  as  being 
children  of  the  Devil.  The  fact  is  not  denied  ; 
but  we  fear  that  it  has  been  strangely  misunder- 
stood. Are  we  to  suppose  that  an  evil  being 
has  created,  and  preserves  in  existence,  and  sup- 
plies the  wants  of  a  part  of  the  human  race  ? 
Were  the  Jews  who  were  called  serpents  and  a 
generation  of  vipers,  the  actual  children  of  a 
reptile  ?  And  was  Judas  who  was  called  the 
son  of  perdition,  really  begotton  of  destruction? 
In  all  these  things  the  relation  is  not  real,  but 
figurative.  A  child  of  the  devil  is  an  evil  and 
wicked  person.  The  character  exhibited  is 
taken  for  the  man  himself.  A  generation  of  vi- 
pers means  men  full  of  cursing  and  bitterness — 
with  the  poison  of  asps  under  their  tongues,  and 
their  hearts  filled  with  murder.  And  a  son  of 
perdition  means  one  doomed  to  destruction.  An 
actual  child  of  God  may  in  spirit  and  character 
be  a  child  of  hell.     But  whatever  man  may  be 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  103 

ill  feeling  and  conduct — in  the  principles  that 
govern  their  lives — and  in  the  objects  of  pursuit 
that  engage  their  attention,  no  fact  is  more  posi- 
tively affirmed  in  the  Scriptures,  than  that  there 
is  "  one  God  and  Father  of  all." 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  nature  of  that  rela- 
tion which  binds  together  earthly  parents  and 
their  children,  we  are  at  once  convinced  that  the 
relation  which  subsists  between  the  immortal 
Father  of  spirits  and  the  human  race,  is  not  the 
result  of  accident,  or  of  any  thing  performed  by 
man.  Your  children  are  bound  to  you  by  the 
ties  of  kindred  before  they  know  you,  and  Avhat- 
ever  may  be  their  character.  There  is  a  natural 
relationship  subsisting  between  father  and  child, 
which  cannot  be  created  by  obedience,  nor  de- 
stroyed by  disobedience.  If  we  are  in  reality 
the  offspring  of  God,  we  are  so  before  we  know 
him  ;  and  whatever  maybe  our  sinful  wanderings 
and  unworthiness  of  character,  we  still  bear  the 
same  relation.  In  feeling,  and  spirit,  and  cha- 
racter we  may  be  the  servants  of  sin  and  the 
children  of  Satan.  But  the  ties  of  spiritual  kin- 
dred that  subsist  between  the  Father  of  spirits 
and  ourselves  can  never  be  dissolved  ;  and  if 
they  were,  it  is  certain  that  all  our  filial  obliga- 
tions would  at  once  be  destroyed.     The  relation 


104  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

of  parent  and  child  is  not  the  result  of  adventi- 
tious circumstances.  It  exists  independently  of 
any  peculiar  character  in  either  party ;  and 
though  they  be  estranged  and  know  not  each 
other,  the  parental  and  the  filial  relation  still  ex- 
ist. And,  indeed,  we  find  that  the  Lord  called 
to  the  Israelites,  in  their  greatest  sinfulness,  say- 
ing, "  Turn,  O  backsliding  c/iz7f/rm." 

Can  we  view  the  Deity  as  the  "  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  all"  mankind,  and  still  suppose  that' there 
is  a  portion  of  our  race  to  whom  he  bears  no  pa- 
rental affection  and  love  ?  Will  he  ever,  under 
any  conceivable  circumstances,  withdraw  his  fa- 
therly goodness,  and  become  hardened  against 
any  that  were  created  in  his  image  and  bear  his 
divine  likeness  ?  The  good  father  provides  for- 
the  wants  of  his  children,  and  seeks  to  bless; 
them  ;  and  though  he  may  be  strictly  just  in  his 
discipline  toward  them,  he  still  bestows  upon 
them  unnumbered  favors  that  have  never  been 
merited.  He  is  kind  to  his  offspring  before  they 
know  him ;  and  his  love  follows  them  through 
every  scene  of  life  even  unto  death.  The  way- 
ward and  disobedient  are  objects  of  his  tender 
compassion ;  and  he  never  ceases  his  efforts  to 
reclaim  them  from  the  ways  of  folly  and  trans- 
s^ression,  and  to   restore  them   to  wisdom  and 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  105 

peace.  And  the  man  who  should  become  the 
foe  of  any  of  his  children,  and  subject  them  to 
fierce  curses  without  intending  ever  to  do  them 
any  good,  would  forfeit  the  name  and  character 
of  a  parent,  and  stand  before  the  world  a  monster 
in  cruelty,  and  an  object  of  universal  execration 
and  disgust !  No  matter  what  might  be  the  in- 
gratitude and  vileness  of  his  offspring ;  if  he  were 
to  treat  them  with  revenge  or  maliciousness,  or 
abandon  them  to  the  worst  imaginable  fate,  he 
would  be  not  only  unworthy  the  name  of  a  pa- 
rent, but  a  disgrace  to  humanity,  and  little  less 
than  a  fiend  incarnate !  To  impute  such  con- 
duct to  any  man  that  breathes,  would  be  the 
greatest  indignity,  and  the  worst  injury  that 
could  be  inflicted  upon  his  character. 

Shall  we  suppose  that  God's  parental  love  to 
the  children  of  men,  is  less  constant  than  that 
which  an  earthly  parent  cherishes  for  his  off- 
spring ?  Is  it  a  thing  to  be  lost  or  gained  at 
pleasure  by  the  fitful  choice  and  uncertain 
efforts  of  man  ?  Can  God  be  the  Father  of  men 
to-day,  and  their  foe  to-morrow  ?  Or,  continu- 
ing the  Father  of  all  during  all  times  and  through- 
out eternity,  will  he  contend  forever  and  be  al- 
ways wroth  against  any  of  his  offspring ;  and 
preserve   them   in  existence  merely  that  they 


106  TJNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

may  endure  ceaseless  and  merciless  torments  ? 

This  is  surely  a  serious  charge  to  bring  against 
that  Being  who  is  declared  to  be  Love — who  is 
good  unto  all — who  is  the  God  and  Father  of 
all — and  who  is  without  variableness  or  even 
the  shadow  of  turning.  Such  an  accusation 
should  not  be  made  on  slight  grounds ;  nor 
without  the  most  weighty  and  irresistible  rea- 
sons. If  such  be  the  character  of  God,  alas  ! 
that  the  morn  of  creation  ever  dawned,  or  man 
ever  derived  the  breath  of  life  from  the  great 
Fountain  of  being ! 

But  let  us  briefly  notice  the  comparisons  of 
the  Scriptures  between  an  earthly  parent  and  the 
Father  of  spirits.  We  may  thus  ascertain  which 
bears  the  strongest  relation,  and  whose  love  is 
the  most  enduring.  Our  Savior  said.  Matt,  vii., 
"  What  man  is  there  of  you,  whom  if  his  son 
ask  bread,  will  ye  give  him  a  stone  ?  Or  if  he 
ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  serpent?"  Jesus 
waited  for  no  answer  to  these  questions ;  for  he 
knew  full  well  that  but  one  could  be  given  by 
any  man  possessing  a  single  feeling  of  humani- 
ty ;  but  he  proceeded  at  once  to  draw  the  compa- 
rison ; — "  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  Aoz^j  imich 
more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  lieaven  give 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  107 

good  things  to  them  that  ask  him?"  The  com- 
parison here  introduced  is  not  between  asking 
and  not  asking  ;  but  between  an  earthly  parent 
and  the  Father  of  all  spirits.  If  the  former,  with 
the  little  and  inconstant  love  that  man  possesses, 
will  supply  the  wants  and  regard  the  happiness 
of  his  needy  and  dependant  offspring ;  certainly 
the  latter,  who  is  the  fountain  of  all  benevolence, 
and  whose  love  never  changes,  and  who  is  the 
«'  God  and  Father  of  all,"  will  ever  contiuue  the 
friend  of  the  whole  human  race,  and  at  last 
crown  all  with  a  parent's  blessings.  Tbe  differ- 
ence presented  in  the  comparison,  is  ali  in  favor 
of  the  superior,  endless  and  changeless  love  of 
the  Lord.  And  in  view  of  this  testimony  of  the 
great  Teacher,  who  can  believe  that  God  will 
adopt  principles  in  his  government  of  the  world, 
that  would  be  odious  and  unmerciful  in  man ; 
and  inflict  tortures,  or  suffer  his  children  to  en- 
dure agonies,  that  will  never  cease,  and  never  be 
designed  to  result  in  blessings  ?  Lord,  forgive 
the  ignorance  of  the  man  who  can  thus  believe, 
and  grant  him  repentance  unto  life. 

The  comparison  is  still  stronger  in  the  49th 
of  Isaiah,  where  we  read,  "  But  Zion  said.  The 
Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  and  my  God  hath  for- 
gotten me.     Cau  a  woman    forget  her  sucking 


108  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on 
the  son  of  her  womb  ?  yea,  they  may  forget, 
yet  willl  not  forget  thee^  Here  the  bare  pos- 
sibility is  admitted  that  the  mother  may  cease  to 
regard  with  fond  affection  her  tender  and  help- 
less child.  Such  cases  have  occurred ;  but  to 
the  honor  of  woman  be  it  said,  they  have  been 
rare  indeed.  But  strong  and  deathless  as  the 
love  of  woman's  heart  is  for  her  cherished  in- 
fant, it  is  but  as  a  drop  to  the  ocean,  compared 
to  the  iaimeasurable  and  immutable  love  which 
the  "Gcd  and  Father  of  all"  bears  to  his  chil- 
dren !  God  never  forgets — never  becomes  har- 
dened agamst  his  offspring — and  he  will  there- 
fore never  abandon  any  soul  of  man  to  remedi- 
less woe,  and  much  less  become  himself  the  re- 
lentless and  merciless  tormentor  ! 

If  we  consider  the  comparisons  of  Scripture 
in  regard  to  parental  discipline,  we  shall  find  that 
the  same  conclusion  follows,  and  that  it  is  equal- 
ly honorable  to  the  divine  character.  Moses 
was  instructed  to  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
"  Thou  shalt  also  consider  in  thy  heart,  that  as^ 
a  man  chasteneth  his  son,  so  the  Lord  thy  God 
chasteneth  thee."  Deut.  viii.  5.  How  does  » 
man  chasten  his  child  ?  and  for  what  purpose  is 
the  rod  applied  ?     Docs  he  make  suffering  th^ 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  109 

object,  and  aim  to  inflict  an  ultimate  injury  upon 
his  oflspring?  The  man  who  should  be  guilty 
of  such  conduct,  would  forfeit  all  claim  to  the 
name  of  a  parent ;  and  every  human  being  with 
the  slightest  sensibility,  would  be  shocked  at 
such  vile  and  worse  than  barbarous  conduct! 
And  ought  not  men  to  stop  and  pause,  before  they 
presume  to  charge  any  such  procedure  upon  the 
God  and  Father  of  all  spirits  ?  If  he  chastens 
as  a  father  and  loves  more  than  a  mother,  he 
will  never  inflict  an  unnecessary  stripe,  nor 
grieve  his  helpless  creatures  merely  to  cause 
them  pain. 

The  comparison  stated  by  Paul  is  far  strong- 
er. He  says,  "  Furthermore,  we  have  had  fathers 
of  our  flesh  which  corrected  us,  and  we  gave 
them  reverence  :  shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in 
subjection  unto  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  live  ? 
For  they  verily  for  a  few  days  chastened  us  after 
their  own  pleasure ;  but  he  for  our  profit,  that 
we  might  be  partakers  of  his  holiness.  Now  no 
chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous, 
but  grievous :  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth 
the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them 
which  are  exercised  thereby."  Heb.  Xii. 
9 — 11.  From  this  passage  we  learn  that 
10 


110  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

although  earthly  parents  are  subject  to  passion, 
and  sometimes  chastise  under  wrong  influences, 
God  is  always  actuated  by  the  same  pure  and 
benevolent  feelings,  and  always  has  in  view  the 
same  righteous  and  peaceful  end.  He  may 
cause  the  foolish  votary  of  vice  to  suffer  griev- 
ously for  a  season;  but  that  suffering  will  be 
beneficial  to  the  creature,  and  worthy  of  the 
God  of  Love  !  There  is  an  afterward  to  the 
sufferings  of  those  who  are  chastened  of  the 
Lord.  And  when  all  punishment  shall  have 
done  its  work,  the  fruits  of  righteousness  and 
peace  shall  fill  all  hearts,  the  Lord  shall  rejoice 
in  his  works,  and  all  who  have  borne  the  image 
of  the  earthy  man  shall  also  bear  the  image  of 
the  heavenly,  and  "  be  equal  unto  the  angels." 

Here  then  is  our  conclusion.  God  is  the  Fa- 
ther of  all  men — his  parental  love  never  fails 
nor  changes — he  will  consider  the  wants  and 
provide  for  the  happiness  of  his  offspring — his 
chastenings  are  designed  for  benevolent  ends, 
and  will  ultimately  result  in  happiness  to  the 
sufferer — he  will  be  glorified  in  all  his  works — 
and  through  whatever  scenes  of  trial  and  disci- 
pline man  may  pass,  the  time  will  come  when 
every  tongue  shall  swear,  "  In  the  Lord  have  I 
righteousness  and  strength."     Amen. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  WILL   OF  GOD. 

In  view  of  the  arguments  already  presented  in 
favor  of  Universalism,  we  feel  justified  in  assu- 
ming certain  important  positions  without  any- 
additional  proof.  We  have  shown  that  God 
originally  designed  all  mankind  for  ultimate 
glory  and  happiness.  We  have  proved  that  he 
is  the  "  Father  of  all ;"  and  that  the  filial  rela- 
tion which  binds  man  to  him  is  not  the  result  of 
any  thing  adventitious,  nor  liable  ever  to  be  de- 
stroyed. And  we  may  now  view  God  as  the 
universal  and  immutable  Parent,  eternally  well 
disposed  toward  all  his  offspring. 

These  facts  are  established  by  the  united  tes- 
timony of  reason  and  Scripture,  xind  as  truth 
is  always  consistent  with  itself,  we  have  a  riofht 
to  assume  that  the  divine  word  teaches  nothing 
of  a  contrary  nature.  If  God  is  the  unchange- 
able Father  of  all  spirits,  his  disposition  toward 
man  cannot  be  otherwise  than  benevolent.     And 


112  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

being  at  first  "  good  unto  all,"  his  goodness  can 
never  experience  mutation,  neither  become  cir- 
cumscribed in  its  influence.  God  is  far  exalted 
above  the  possibility  of  change ;  and  passion 
finds  noplace  in  his  infinitely  pure  and  holy  mind. 
Uninfluenced  by  any  thing  from  without,  his  dis- 
position and  all  his  acts,  spring  from  the  im- 
pulses of  his  own  nature.  With  a  perfect  know- 
ledge of  all  his  works  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  and  with  a  certain  understanding  of  all 
possible  events,  however  remote,  no  intention 
of  his  will  can  be  liable  to  defeat — no  purpose 
of  his  mind  can  ever  be  frustrated.  And  if  we  can 
clearly  ascertain  "  the  determinate  counsel"  of 
God  with  respect  to  any  particular  end  of  his 
economy,  the  fact  itself,  will  afford  the  strong- 
est reason  for  believing  in  the  certain  accom- 
plishment of  that  end.  We  may  not  understand 
all  the  means  necessary  for  the  completion  of 
the  work,  nor  be  able  to  answer  every  objection 
and  reconcile  all  seeming  difficulties ;  but  we  are 
still  confident  in  the  belief  that  God  can  never 
be  disappointed  in  any  undertaking. 

In  considering  any  subject  of  Bible  truth,  it  is 
highly  important  that  we  keep  constantly  in 
view  the   infinitely  benevolent  and  immutable 


rXIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  113 

nature  of  the  Supreme  Being.  There  is  a  prone- 
ness  in  man  to  ascribe  his  own  weaknesses  and 
passions  to  the  object  of  his  devotions,  and  to 
view  his  God  as  a  Being  in  too  many  respects 
like  unto  himself.  The  Psalmist  speaks  of  per- 
sons in  his  day  who  thought  that  God  was  alto- 
gether such  as  themselves.  Perhaps  few  in 
these  days  extend  the  comparison  so  far;  but 
we  fear  that  many  are  equally  blinded  in  regard 
to  the  true  character  of  the  Divinity.  All  quali- 
ties in  man  that  are  good  should  J?e  attributed  to 
God,  and  considered  in  him  as  infinite  and 
changeless.  Thus  the  Scriptures  speak  of  the 
Lord  as  possessing  parental  affection,  inconceiv- 
ably greater  and  more  enduring  than  that  of  any 
earthly  father  or  mother.  But  we  should  be 
careful  that  we  do  not  ascribe  to  the  Living  God 
any  weakness,  passion  or  change,  that  belongs 
only  to  imperfect  beings.  And,  above  all,  we 
should  guard  against  the  supposition  that  there 
is  any  thing  like  uncertainty  in  the  Divine  Mind. 
All  is  perfection  with  God.  With  him  all  time 
is  present — all  things  are  known — and  the  end 
is  as  clearly  seen  and  as  fully  understood  as  the 
beo-inninof. 

Owing  to  the  state  of  the  Christian  world,  we 
have  hitherto  been  obliged  to  perform  a  double 
10* 


114  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

labor.  We  have  first  labored  to  disprove  the 
doctrines  of  others,  and  afterwards  to  establish 
the  truth  of  our  own.  No  good  reason  can  be 
given  why  we  should  always  continue  this 
course  of  labors.  We  are  justified  in  throw- 
ing the  burden  of  proof,  at  least  in  some  mea- 
sure, upon  the  opposers  of  God's  universal  and 
efiicient  grace,  instead  of  disproving  all  their  as- 
sumptions. The  essential  truths  of  religion, 
concerning  which  all  Christians  are  perfectly 
agreed,  are  all  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  universal 
salvation.  And  when  a  man  asserts  that  God  will 
fail  in  any  undertaking,  or  that  some  men  will  final- 
ly be  doomed  to  an  end  for  which  he  never  design- 
ed them,  we  have  a  right  to  demand  proof  of  the 
awful  disappointment.  It  is  not  for  us  to  show 
that  God  never  will  be  thus  defeated  in  his  inten- 
tions ;  but  it  is  the  business  of  our  opposers  to 
take  hold  of  the  affirmative  of  the  question,  and 
prove  that  God  will  at  last  be  baflled  in  his  pur- 
poses. Let  fair  and  honorable  rules  of  argumen- 
tation govern  the  disputants  on  both  sides  of  the 
question,  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  conclu- 
sion in  all  minds  will  be,  that  God  ivills  the  sal- 
vation of  all  men,  and  cannot  fail  at  last  to  effect 
this  desirable  object. 


UMVERSALIST    BELIEF.  115 

We  now  propose  to  consider  the  ivill  of  God, 
in  reference  to  the  salvation  of  man.  The  main 
proposition  that  we  shall  endeavor  to  establish 
and  illustrate,  is,  that  God  icills  the  salvcdion  of 
all  men. 

In  prosecuting  this  undertaking,  it  seems  ne- 
cessary that  we  should  first  clearly  define  what 
we  mean  by  that  salvation,  of  which  we  hold 
that  all  men  will  finally  partake.  The  Gospel 
speaks  of  a  salvation  which  is  peculiar  to  he- 
lievers,  and  which  is,  in  fact,  the  fruit  of  Chris- 
tian faith.  It  would  be  folly  to  pretend  that  all 
men  enjoy  this  salvation.  Faith  belongs  to  the 
present  world,  where  the  believer  in  Christ 
walks  by  faith,  and  not  by  sight ;  and  that  sal- 
vation which  comes  through  belief  of  the  truth 
can  be  experienced  by  no  man  who  does  not  be- 
lieve the  record  which  God  hath  given  of  his 
Son.  Persons  dying  in  infancy  can  know  no- 
thing of  salvation  by  faith,  because  they  never 
exercised  faith  ;  and  yet  w^e  believe  that  they 
will  be  subjects  of  "the  common"  or  universal 
salvation.  Salvation  by  faith  is  the  special 
and  present  salvation,  enjoyed  by  none  but 
true  believers,  and  only  in  this  world  where 
faith  is  exercised.     But  we  hold  that  the  gene- 


116  UXIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

ral  and  final  salvation  will  not  be  of  faith,  but 
will  be  enjoyed  in  full  sight  and  perfect  know- 
ledge. Believing  that  there  will  be  no  faith  in 
the  spiritual  world,  we  deny  that  there  will  be 
any  salvation  by  faith  in  that  abode  of  celestial 
light  and  glory.  Faith  will  there  be  lost  in  sight, 
and  hope  absorbed  in  the  fruition  of  knowledge. 

But  we  need  not  expatiate  upon  the  subject  of 
salvation  by  faith.  It  must  be  obvious  to  all 
who  view  the  subject  with  any  degree  of  candor, 
that  though  but  a  part  o\  mankind  partake  of  that 
present  salvation  which  comes  through  faith,  all 
may  nevertheless  be  "  saved  and  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth."  And  when  we  speak 
of  universal  salvation,  we  always  refer  to  the 
final  end  of  our  race.  With  salvation  by  faith 
comparatively  few  of  our  race  are  blessed — in- 
fants, idiots,  heathens,  and  all  unbelievers  being 
excluded.  But  the  proposition  which  we  have 
attempted  to  maintain,  contemplates  the  ultimate 
blessedness  of  our  race  in  the  immortal  state  of 
being,  and  in  the  he^ivenly  nature  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  salvation  will  deliver  man  from 
sin  and  sorrow,  and  the  power  of  death  and 
corruption,  and  introduce  him  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  tiie  resurrection  state.  And  this  sal- 
vation, wc   believe,  will  be   conferred  upon  the 


UXIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  117 

entire  race  of  Adam.  Paul  very  distinctly  speaks 
of  the  two  salvations,  in  1st  Timothy  iv.  10, 
where  he  says,  "  For  therefore  we  both  labor 
and  suffer  reproach,  because  we  trust  in  the  living 
God,  who  is  the  Savior  of  all  men,  specially  of 
those  that  believed  We  are  now  concerned 
only  with  the  universal  salvation  ;  and  shall  at- 
tempt to  prove  that  God  wills  the  salvation  of 
all  men. 

A  passage  relating  to  this  subject,  that  will 
readily  occur  to  every  mind,  is  found  in  1st 
Timothy,  2d  chapter.  And  that  it  may  be  seen 
in  all  its  force,  we  will  cite  the  connexion  as 
well  as  the  passage  itself.  "  I  exhort,  therefore, 
that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  interces- 
sions, and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all  men; 
for  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority ;  that 
we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  god- 
liness and  honesty.  For  this  is  good  and  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God  our  Savior ;  who 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  For  there  is  one  God 
and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus  ;  who  gave  himself  a  ransom 
for  all  to  be  testified  in  due  time."  The  fact  is 
here  most  'explicitly  affirmed  that  God  "?m7/ 
have  all  men  to  be  saved.''     And  the  connexion 


118  rNIVERSALIST  BKLIEF. 

in  which  this  declaration  is  found,  instead  of 
weakening  its  force,  plainly  forbids  any  limita- 
tion of  meaning.  The  apostle  declares  it  to  be 
good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  that 
prayers  should  be  made  in  behalf  of  all  men ; 
and  the  reason  assigned,  is,  that  God  is  good  to 
all  men,  and  wills  that  all  shall  be  saved,  and 
come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  It  is  also 
added  that  the  Mediator  gave  himself  a  ransom 
for  all.  Jesus  tasted  death  for  every  man,  Heb. 
ii.  9,  and  is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world,  1st  John,  ii.  2.  And,  considering 
all  the  terms  of  the  context,  it  would  seem  pre- 
posterous to  deny  that  the  divine  will  in  reference 
to  the  salvation  of  man  embraces  our  whole 
race. 

A  distinguished  commentator*  has  said  in  re- 
lation to  the  passage  now  under  consideration, 
"As  God  is  the  God  and  Father  of  all;  for  there 
IS  but  one  God,  verse  5,  and  Jesus  Christ  the 
Mediator  of  all;  so  he  gave  himself  a  ransom 
for  all :  i.  e.  for  all  that  God  made  ;  consequent- 
ly for  every  human  soul  ;  unless  we  suppose 
thattherearehuman  souls  of  which  God  is  not  the 
Creator;  for,  the  argument  of  the  apostle  is 
plainly  this  : —  1.  There  is  one  God — 2.  This 
»  Clarke 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIET 


119 


one  God  is  ihe  Creator  of  all — 3.  He  has  made 
a  revelation  of  his  kindness  to  all — 4.  He  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  and  5.  He  has  provided 
a  Mediator  for  all,  who  ^ave  himself  a  ransom 
for  all.  As  surely  as  God  has  created  all  men, 
so  surely  has  Jesus  Christ  died  for  all  men. 
This  is  a  truth  which  the  nature  and  revelation 
of  God  unequivocally  dechre." 

Again,  our  Savior  says,  John  vi.  38,  39,  "  For 
I  came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  own 
will,  but  the  icill  of  him  that  sent  me.  And  this 
is  the  Father's  will  which  hath  sent  me,  that  of 
all  which  he  hath  given  me  I  should  lose  nothing, 
but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last  day." 
The  object  of  Christ's  mediation  between  God 
and  men  is  here  stated,  as  well  as  the  certain  ac- 
complishment of  God's  will  through  his  agency. 
He  has  been  appointed  to  perform  what  God 
has  willed ;  and  this  will  is  that  he  should  lose 
nothing  of  all  that  the  Father  hath  given  him, 
but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last  day.  The 
meaning  seems  plain  that  Jesus  has  been  com- 
missioned to  eflfect  the  final  reconciliation  to  God 
of  all  that  have  been  given  into  his  hands,  snd 
over  whom  he  has  received  power.  The  object 
of  his  mission  and   labors  orijjinated  in  the  Di- 


120  UNIVEKSALIST   BELIEF. 

vine  Mind,  and  is  hence  called  the  will  of  God, 
which  he  has  undertaken  to  accomplish.  Jesus 
has  heen  highly  exalted,  and  invested  with  all 
the  adequate  means  for  the  completion  of  this 
work.  And  if  nothing  will  be  lost  of  all  that  the 
Father  hath  given  him,  the  time  will  certainly 
come  when  all  his  ransomed  subjects  will  bow 
in  subjection  and  obedience  before  him,  and  con- 
fess him  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father  ! 
We  have  now  two  important  facts  before  us, 
and  we  desire  that  they  may  be  carefully  consi- 
dered. 1.  Jesus,  the  Savior  of  sinners,  has  en- 
gaged in  the  enterprise  o^  doing  the  will  of  God; 
and  2.  That  will  is,  negatively,  that  he  should 
lose  nothing  of  all  that  has  been  given  him,  and, 
positively,  that  he  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the 
last  day,  and  thus  restore  all  to  God.  The  in- 
quiry that  now  suggests  itself  to  the  mind,  is, 
how  many  of  the  human  race  have  been  given 
Christ  of  the  Father?  A  correct  answer  to  this 
question  will  determine  the  extent  of  that  ivill  of 
God,  which  our  Redeemer  has  pledged  himself 
to  perform.  We  need  not  ask  what  men  believe 
in  regard  to  this  subject — the  answer  must  come 
from  hio;her  authority,  and  the  spirit  of  inspira- 
tion shall  declare  it.  We  find,  in  the  2d  Psalm, 
a  prophecy  in  reference  to  the   Messiah,  that 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  121 

will  shed  light  upon  this  interesting  theme.  The 
Lord  speaks,  saying,  *«Yet  have  I  set  my  king 
upon  my  holy  hill  in  Zion.  I  will  declare  the 
decree  :  the  Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art 
my  Son ;  this  day  have  1  begotten  thee.  Ask  of 
me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  tliine 
inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  thy  possession."  This  language  is  in  part 
applied  to  our  Saviour  in  the  New  Testament, 
Heb.  i.  5 ;  and  we  there  learn  also  that  he  has 
asked  and  received  the  large  gift  of  the  heathen 
and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  He  says 
himself,  John  xvii.,  "  Father,  the  hour  is  come  ; 
glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also  may  glorify 
thee:  As  thou  hast  given  him  power  over  all 
fleshy  that  he  should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many 
as  thou  hast  given  him."  But  the  Messiah  has 
not  only  received  power  over  all.  He  proceeds 
still  farther  and  declares  in  language  too  plain  to 
be  misunderstood,  *'  The  Father  loveth  the  Son, 
and  hath  given  all  things  into  his  hand.'' 
John  iii.  35.  And  this  fact  receives  confirmation 
from  those  passages  which  declare  Christ  to  be 
*'  the  head  of  every  man,"  1st  Cor.  xi.  3,  the 
"  Lord  of  all,"  Acts  x.  36,  and  "  the  Saviourof 
the  world,"  1st  John  iv.  14.  As  God  intended 
him  to  be  the  universal  Saviour,  he  delivered  all 
things  into  his  hand,  gave  him  power  over  all 
11 


122  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

flesh,  caused  him  to  taste  death  for  every  man, 
and  to  be  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world  !  And  if  all  this  does  not  express 
absolute  universality,  we  are  either  ignorant  of 
the  meaning  of  language,  or  else  the  Bible  is  to 
us  an  uncertain  rule  of  faith. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  it  seems  plain  and 
eertain,  that  the  to  ill  of  God  which  Jesus  came 
to  perform,  is,  that  all  men  may  at  last  be  saved, 
and  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Such 
is  the  extent,  and  such  the  object  of  God's  will 
in  relation  to  the  salvation  of  our  race.  As  it 
embraces  all,  it  contemplates  the  same  happy 
and  glorious  end  for  universal  humanity.  And 
the  great  question  to  be  settled  is,  whether  this 
ivill  of  God  will  to  some  extent  fail,  or  at  last 
be  fully  accomplished. 

Here  let  us  inquire  what  we  are  to  understand 
by  the  will  of  God.  This  phrase  does  not  bear 
one  uniform  signification  in  all  parts  of  the 
Scriptures  where  it  occurs.  In  some  places  it 
refers  to  the  commandments  of  God,  or  to  the 
duty  which  his  law  requires  of  man.  Thus 
Jesus  says,  Mark  iii.  35,  "For  whosoever  shall 
do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and 
my  sister,  and  my  mother ;"  by  which  he  meant 
that  whoever  was  obedient  to  the  divine  law, 
stood  in  a  most  intimate  relation  to  himself,  and 


UXIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  123 

was  united  to  him  by  belter  and  purer  ties  than 
those  of  natural  kindred.  He  expressed  the  same 
general  meaning,  when  he  said,  John  vii.  16,  17, 
"  My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me. 
If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of 
the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I 
speak  of  myself."  In  these  passages,  and  in 
many  others,  the  will  of  God  is  expressive  of  no 
determination  of  his  mind  in  regard  to  any  end 
of  his  economy ;  but  merely  signifies  that  duty 
which  his  holy  law  obligates  us  to  perform. 

But  it  seems  to  us  that  the  phrase  in  question 
should  be  understood  in  a  far  different  sense, 
when  it  relates  to  any  work  which  God  himself 
means  to  perform.  When  he  said  concerning 
John  the  Baptist,  "•  I  ivill  send  my  messenger," 
Luke  vii.  27,  we  undersand  that  such  was  his 
intention;  and  we  know  that  the  Baptist  was 
thus  certainly  sent.  And  when  he  said,  Isaiah 
Ivii.  16,  "For  I  will  not  contend  for  ever,  nei- 
ther loill  I  be  always  wroth  :  for  the  spirit  should 
fail  before  me,  and  the  souls  which  I  have 
made ;"  he  declared  his  determination  not  to 
punish  always,  but  to  produce  at  some  time  a 
d-^sirable  end,  when  the  contention  should  cease. 
When  Jesus  affirmed  that  he  came  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  he  did  not  mean  that  he  came  to  be 
conformed  in  obedience  to  the  divine  commands  ; 


124  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

but  he  undertook  to  effect  a  particular  purpose 
which  originated  in  the  mind  of  his  Father.  God 
loilled  or  determined  a  particular  end,  and  com' 
missioned  his  Son  to  accomplish  it.  The  will 
of  God  in  this  case  is  obviously  expressive  of 
what  he  meant  to  effect,  and  seems  equivalent 
to  intention.  And  God's  will  that  all  men  shall 
be  saved,  and  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  means  that  such  is  his  pleasure,  and  such 
the  end  that  he  designs. 

The  first  and  highest  sense  of  the  will  of 
God,  is  thus  given  by  several  eminent  theolo- 
gians, neither  of  which  held  the  perfect  faith 
which  we  cherish.  Cruden  says,  "  The  will  of 
God  is  taken,  for  his  absolute  will  which  nothing 
can  vk^ithstand.'*  Buck  says,  the  '*  will  of  God 
is  taken,  for  that  which  he  has  from  all  eternity 
determined,  which  is  unchangeable,  and  must 
certainly  come  to  pass."  And  Calmet  says, 
*'it  is  taken  for  the  absolute  and  immutable 
will  of  God,  which  nothing  can  withstand.'* 
These  authors,  it  is  true,  speak  of  other  senses 
in  which  the  will  of  God  must  be  understood ; 
and  we  have  admitted,  and  attempted  to  show, 
that  this  phrase  is  not  always  expressive  of  the 
same  meaning.  But  we  have  stated  the  first  defi- 
nition which  they  offer,  and  which  we  suppose 
to  be  the  highest  and  most  obvious  sense  of  the 


XJNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  125 

will  of  God,  and  perhaps  the  only  sense  when 
used  in  reference  to  any  object  which  God  means 
to  effect. 

And  why  should  it  be  thought  that  the  will  of 
God  must  be  understood  in  some  inferior  sense 
when  applied  to  the  salvation  of  mankind  ?  It  is 
plain  that  this  will  as  explained  by  our  Savior, 
is  nothing  less  than^a  fixed  determination.  For 
he  declares  that  he  not  only  came  to  do  the  will 
of  his  Father,  but  that  this  will  is,  that  of  all  that 
the  Father  hath  given  him  he  should  lose  nothings 
but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last  day.  If  there 
was  no  intention  in  the  divine  mind,  Jesus  had 
no  certain  object  in  view,  and  was  merely  trying 
an  experiment,  or  endeavoring  to  ascertain  what 
could  be  done  !  And  if  there  is  no  purpose 
with  God  that  all  men  shall  be  saved,  we  have 
no  assurance  that  he  really  means  to  save  one 
individual  of  our  race  !  But  if  God  ever  had  any 
"determinate  counsel,"  it  seems  but  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  it  would  embrace  the  highest  in- 
teiests  of  his  moral  offspring,  and  therefore  in- 
clude the  final  destiny  of  the  human  family. 
And  in  view  of  all  that  has  been  said,  we  feel 
justified  in  concluding  that  God  has  tvilled  the 
salvation  of  all  men. 

Havino;  shown  that  God  has  ivilled  the  final 
and  glorious  destiny  of  the  whole  human  race, 
11* 


126  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

we  wish  now  to  notice  the  scliemes  by  which 
our  opposers  endeavor  to  evade  the  just  and  rea- 
sonable conckision  resulting  from  this  important 
fact.  If  such  is  the  will  of  God,  why  should 
we  doubt  that  all  men  will  finally  be  saved  ? 
The  Arminiau  objector  (and  perhaps  we  shall 
have  no  other)  will  say  that  it  is  God's  will  of 
desire  and  of  pleasure  that  all  men  should  be 
saved ;  or  in  other  words,'  that  he  desires  this 
end,  and  would  be  well  pleased  if  all  men  would 
become  holy  and  righteous,  so  that  it  could  be 
accomplished.  This  is  a  very  common  objection, 
but  we  are  unable  to  perceive  in  it  any  force 
whatever.  If  man  were  the  author  of  salvation, 
and  our  destiny  depended  upon  his  efforts,  the 
result  might  be  uncertain,  and  the  author  might 
have  desires  that  would  never  be  satisfied.  But 
when  any  such  lang,uage  is  applied  to  the  infinite 
God,  his  nature  and  character  seem  not  to  be  un- 
derstood ;  and  if  he  is  not  considered  altogether 
such  a  one  as  ourselves,  he  is  at  least  supposed 
to  possess  some  weakness  that  belongs  to  hu- 
manity. 

What  is  meant  by  desire  when  applied  to 
God  ?  This  word  is  sometimes  at  least  expres- 
sive of  uncertainty.  We  may  desire  many  things 
which  we  have  no  expectation  of  ever  receiving. 
If  there  is  a  probability  of  gaining  the  object  de- 


UNI  VERBALIST  BELIEF.  127 

sired,  hope  is  experienced  in  the  mind.  But 
God  never  hopes,  and  strictly  speaking,  he  can 
have  no  desires,  All  things  are  known  unto 
him,  and  he  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning. 
No  result  of  his  government  or  grace  can  be  with 
him  an  object  of  desire,  because  it  must  be  per- 
fectly known,  and  absolutely  certain.  Desire 
has  reference  to  someih'mg future,  but  with  God 
all  things  are  present.  Perhaps  the  same  may 
be  said  of  will.  But  there  is,  nevertheless,  a 
distinction  between  the  two,  that  may  easily  be 
understood.  Tflll  in  the  divine  mind,  may  be 
regarded  as  synonymous  whh  purpose  ;  but  de- 
sire seems  to  imply  that  the  object  wished  for  is 
uncertain.  And  such  is  in  fact  the  ground  as- 
sumed by  the  Arminian  objector.  He  admits 
that  God  desires  the  salvation  of  all  men,  but 
denies  that  he  will  finally  save  all  men.  Thus 
the  thing  desired  is  represented  as  being  uncer- 
tain; or  rather  it  is  declared  to  be  certain  of  ulti- 
mate failure !  Purpose  is  perfectly  consistent 
with  that  which  is  known  and  present  to  the 
mind  of  God.  But  we  cannot  believe  that  he 
ever  desires  a  thing,  and  much  less  a  thing  that 
will  never  come  to  pass. 

Suppose  we  should  admit  that  it  is  merely  God's 
will  of  f/esire  that  all  men  should  be  saved.  Who 
dare  say  that  this  desire  will  never  be  satisfied  ? 


128  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

The  Scriptures  declare,  that  "  the  desire  of  the 
righteous  shall  be  granted."  Prov.  x.  24.  None 
need  be  told  that  it  is  God  who  grants  the  desire 
of  the  righteous.  And  allowing  that  he  has  de- 
sires himself,  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  he 
would  grant  the  desire  of  others,  and  not  satisfy 
his  own !  The  objector,  therefore,  has  a  greater 
labor  before  him,  than  merely  to  show  that 
God's  will  to  save  all  men  means  desire.  He 
is  required  to  prove  that  that  desire  will  never 
be  fulfilled;  or  at  least  to  offer  some  good  reasons 
for  believing  that  God  will  fail  to  effect  what  he 
has  undertaken  to  perform.  But  neither  of  these 
points  has  as  yet  been  established. 

As  to  the  notion  that  God's  will  means  his 
pleasure,  this  is  far  less  exceptionable  than  the 
assumption  that  it  signifies  desire.  This  word 
is  used  in  connexion  with  the  will  and  purpose 
of  God,  as  we  shall  show,  and  may  be  regarded 
as  a  different  term  expressing  the  same  idea.  It 
is  admitted,  then,  that  the  pleasure  of  God  is, 
that  all  men  may  be  saved.  Well,  upon  what 
ground  is  it  doubted  that  this  pleasure  will  be 
accomplished  ?  Flying  from  one  word  to  another 
may  enable  a  man  to  effect  his  escape  out  of  a 
difficulty,  provided  he  is  not  closely  pursued. 
But  we  mean  to  follow  our  opposers  in  all  their 
windings,  and  rout  them   from   every  refuge, 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  129 

until  they  are  brought  to  the  acknowledgement  of 
the  truth.  Let  it  be  granted  that  ivill  means 
pleasure.  The  Scriptures  will  then  read,  "  It  is 
the  pleasure  of  God  to  have  all  men  to  be  saved, 
and  to  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth." 

Do  the  Scriptures  encourage  us  to  hope  that 
God's  pleasure  will  be  done  ?  or  do  they  give  us 
reason  to  fear  that  it  will  never  be  accomplished  ? 
Two  passages  relating  to  this  subject  may  here 
be  introduced.     Isaiah,  xlvi.  9,  10,  "I  am  God, 
and  there   is  none  like  me,  declaring   the   end 
from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the 
things  that  are  not  yet  done,  saying,  My  coun- 
sel shall  stand,  and  I  ivill  do  all  my  pleasure.'" 
This  passage,  which  we  do  not  say  was  spoken 
in  reference  to  the   final  destiny  of  any  man, 
shows  that  God's  pleasure  is  immutable  and  can 
never  fail.     The  same  truth  is  again  declared  in 
language  equally  positive  and  strong,  in  Isaiah 
liii.  10.  After  foretelling  the  sufferings  and  death 
of  the  Messiah  for  the  redemption  of  the  world, 
the  prophet  says  of  him,  "he  shall  see  his  seed, 
he  shall  prolong  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of 
the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand.''  And  what 
is  this  pleasure  of  the  Lord  that  shall  succeed 
and  be  accomplished  in  the  hand  of  the  Mediator? 
That  all  men  shall  be  saved;  and  that  of  all  that 
hath  been  given  Christ,  (and  the  Father  hath 


130  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

given  all  things  into  his  hands)  he  should  lose 
nothings  but  should  raise  it  up  again  at  the  last 
day!  What,  then,  does  the  objector  gain  by 
substituting  the  word  pleasure  for  ivill  or  pur- 
pose? Surely,  nothing.  The  whole  subject 
appears  still  the  same:  and  the  word  of  God  still 
testifies  that  our  Lord  spoke  the  truth  when  he 
declared  that  he  would  draw  all  men  unto  him, 
self.  John  xii.  32. 

Again,  when  we  quote  the  plain  passage,  God 
*'  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  unto 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  we  are  met  with 
such  answers  as  the  following  : — Rev.  Josiah 
Hopkins  says,  in  his  "Christian  Instructor,"  p. 
217,  *'  From  this  passage  it  is  obvious,  that 
God  does  as  certainly  will  that  all  men  should 
be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  as  that 
all  men  should  be  saved.  This,  however,  is  not 
accomplished."  And  Rev.  Stephen  Remington 
says,  in  his  "  Anti-Universalisrn,"  page  125, 
"  Our  opponents  say  that  this  text  is  a  positive 
affirmation  that  God  will  save  all  men,  and  if 
any  are  finally  lost,  then  his  word  must  fail.  I 
would  ask,  does  not  God  assert  with  equal  posi. 
tiveness  that  he  will  have  all  men  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  ?  And  do  all  men  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ?"  Now,  we 
confess  that  the  statements  here  made  are  strictly 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  131 

true.  And  the  answers  furnished  are  altoorether 
in  favor  of  Universalism.  It  is  just  as  true  that 
God  wills  all  men  to  "be  brought  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  as  that  all  men  should  be 
saved."  Knowledge  of  the  whole  truth  of  God, 
and  perfect  salvation,  are  inseparably  connected 
together ;  and  the  one  is  implied  in  the  other. 
And  as  to  the  question,  "  do  all  men  come  unto 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth?"  we  answer,  this 
end  has  certainly  not  yet  been  accomplished. 
We  claim  no  honor  for  giving  the  answer,  for  it 
seems  very  plain  !  And  we  cannot  see  the  par- 
ticular object  of  the  question,  unless  it  was 
merely  to  say  something.  As  well  might  we 
ask  a  believer  in  the  universal  resurrection  of 
mankind,  "Do  all  men  live  in  the  immortal 
world  ?"  None  suppose  that  all  men  have  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  But  does  it 
hence  follow  that  they  never  ivill  know  the 
truth  and  be  saved  ?  AVhen  arguments  are  di- 
rected against  this  point,  they  will  deserve  more 
consideration  than  any  senseless  questions. 

We  never  said  nor  believed  that  all  men  are 
now  saved,  or  now  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth ;  but  we  are  happy  to  believe  with 
Paul,  that  God  "  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved, 
and  to  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth." 
And  we  think  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  saw  some- 


133  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

thing  of  this  truth,  when  he  said,  "  That  general 
and  unlimited  promise  which  runs  through  the 
whole  gospel  dispensation,  '  I  will  put  my  laws 
into  their  minds,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts,' 
turns  all  the  commands  of  God  into  promises, 
and  consequently  that  among  the  rest.  *Let 
this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ 
Jesus.'  The  command  here  is  equivalent  to  a 
promise,  and  gives  us  full  reason  to  expect  that 
he  will  work  in  us  what  he  requires  of  us.'''' 
Again,  he  says,  in  the  same  connexion,  "  The 
command  of  God  given  by  St.  Peter,  *  Be  ye 
holy  as  he  that  hath  called  you  is  holy,  in  all 
manner  of  conversation,'  implies  a  promise  that 
we  shall  he  thus  holy.  As  God  has  called  us  to 
holiness,  he  is  undoubtedly  willing,  as  well  as 
able,  to  work  this  holiness  in  us.  For  he  can- 
not mock  his  helpless  creatures,  calling  upon 
them  to  receive  what  he  never  intends  to  give 
them.'^ 

We  believe  that  what  God  ivills  he  intends  to 
accomplish.  And  we  find  that  his  ivill  in  re- 
gard to  the  salvation  and  blessedness  of  all  men 
in  Christ,  is  so  connected  with  his  purpose  and 
good  pleasure,  as  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt 
that  these  several  terms  are  employed  to  express 
the  same  gospel  truth.  Paul  says  of  God, 
Ephesians  i.  9,  10,  11,  "Having  made  known 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  133 

unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  according  to  his 
good  pleasure  which  he  h2i\\\  purposed  in  him- 
self:  That  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness 
of  times  he  miglit  gather  together  in  one  all 
things   in   Christ,  both  which   are  in  heaven, 
and  which  are  on  earth  ;  even  in  him  :  In  whom 
also  we  have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  pre- 
destinated according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who 
worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
ivillJ'''     We  are  here  instructed,  not  only  that 
God  has  purposed  the  ingathering  of  all  things 
in  Christ,  as  certainly  as  he  has  ivilled  this  glo- 
rious consummation  ;  but  also  that  the  execution 
of  the  work  belongs  to  him,  and  that  he  will 
complete  it  according  to  his  own  counsel.     All 
uncertainty  is  excluded  ;  and  though  all  things 
have  been  given  into  the  hands  of  Jesus,  he  will 
*'  lose  nothing,''''  but  draw  all  men  unto  himself. 
Such  is  the  conclusion  that  we  draw  from  the 
will  of  God  concerning  the  salvation  of  all  men. 
And  we  find  that  our  opposers,  though  the  truth 
is  divided  among  them,  teach  together  the  same 
gospel    doctrine.     The    Arminian    Dr.    Clarke 
says,  "  Because  God   wills  the  salvation  of  all 
men,  therefore  he  wills  that  all  men  should  be 
prayed  for.     In  the  face  of  such  a  declaration, 
how  can  any  Christian  soul  suppose  that  God 
ever  unconditionally   and  eternally  reprobated 
12 


134  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

any  man !  Those  who  can  believe  so,  one 
would  suppose,  can  have  little  acquaintance 
either  with  the  nature  of  God,  or  the  bowels  of 
Christ.''^  And  the  Calvinistic  Dr.  Gill  says, 
"  The  salvation  which  God  wills  that  all  men 
should  enjoy,  is  not  a  mere  possibility  of  salva- 
tion, or  a  mere  putting  them  into  a  salvable 
state ;  or  a  proposal  of  sufficient  means  of  it  to 
all  in  his  word ;  but  a  real,  certain,  and  actual 
salvation,  which  he  has  determined  they  shall 
have ;  and  is  sure  from  his  own  appointment, 
from  the  provision  of  Christ  as  a  Savior  for 
them,  from  the  covenant  of  grace,  in  which 
everything  is  secured  necessary  for  it,  and  from 
the  mission  of  Christ  to  effect  it,  and  from  its 
being  effected  by  him :  wherefore  the  will  of 
God,  that  all  men  should  be  saved,  is  not  a  con- 
ditional will,  or  what  depends  upon  the  will  of 
man,  or  on  any  thing  to  be  performed  by  him, 
for  then  none  might  be  saved ;  and  if  any  should, 
it  would  be  of  him  that  willeth,  contrary  to  the 
express  words  of  Scripture  ;  but  it  is  an  absolute 
and  unconditional  will  respecting  their  salvation, 
and  which  infallibly  secures  it,"  &c. 

These  statements  we  most  heartily  believe. 
They  are  perfectly  accordant  with  the  truth 
which  we  have  endeavored  to  defend  and  illus- 
trate.   And,  united  together  as  they  ought  to  be, 


UXIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  135 

they  plainly  show  that  we  hold  all  the  truth  be- 
lieved by  both  classes  of  our  opposers.  One 
says  God  really  wills  the  salvation  of  all  men  ; 
and  the  other  declares  that  this  will  respecting 
their  salvation,  ^^  infallibly  secures  it.^^  The 
latter  finds  the  will  of  God  that  all  men  should 
be  saved,  so  determinate  and  absolute,  as  to  de- 
clare that  all  men  cannot  really  mean  all  men ! 
But  with  this  assumption  we  have  no  concern. 
We  are  willing  that  our  opposers  should  settle 
the  controversy  between  themselves.  In  what- 
ever way  it  may  be  decided  it  will  be  favorable 
to  truth.  And  if  left  undecided,  all  the  truth 
held  by  both  classes  constitutes  the  whole  coun- 
sel of  God,  and  encourages  the  hope  that  he  will 
not  be  defeated  in  his  purposes,  nor  disappointed 
in  the  accomplishment  of  his  will! 

When  this  will,  purpose,  or  good  pleasure  is 
fulfilled  by  "  him  who  worketh  all  things  after 
the  counsel  of  his  own  will,"  the  world  shall  be 
reconciled  to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ;  and 
the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  (and  he  "  gave  him- 
self a  ransom  for  all  to  be  testified  in  due  time.") 
"  Yea  the  ransomed  of  Jehovah  shall  return : 
they  shall  come  to  Sion  with  triumph  ;  •  and 
perpetual  gladness  shall  crown  their  heads.  Joy 
and  gladness  shall  they  obtain  ;  and  sighing  and 
sorrow  shall  flee  away." 


CHAPTER   X. 

ATONEMENT. 

Solomon  says,  Proverbs  xvii.  15,  "  He  that 
justifieth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  condemneth 
the  just,  even  they  both  are  abomination  to  the 
Lord."  The  Book  in  which  these  words  are 
found  is  what  its  name  properly  imports — a  col- 
lection o^  proverbs.  It  contains  but  few  pas- 
sages that  may  be  used  with  propriety  as  direct 
proofs  of  any  theoretical  doctrine.  But  it  abounds 
in  maxims,  involving  the  most  important  prin- 
ciples, both  of  moral  and  of  doctrinal  truth. 
And  a  judicious  and  careful  investigation  of  its 
teachings,  may  be  of  the  highest  service  in  the 
discussion  of  subjects  of  a  purely  doctrinal  cha- 
racter. While  we  are  opposed  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  far-fetched  and  overstrained  arguments 
for  the  support  of  any  cause,  we  are  willing  to 
avail  ourselves  of  every  reasonable  help  to  dis- 
prove error  and  elicit  truth.  And  we  think  it 
will  be  no  difficult  task  to  show  that  the  obvious 
sense  of  the  passage  cited,  certainly  stands  op- 
posed to,  and  utter])^  falsifies  a  venerated  dogma 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  137 

of  human  creeds,  that  shall  hereafter  be  intro- 
duced and  examined. 

The  justification  of  the  wicked,  and  the  con- 
demnation of  the  just,  are  alike  wrong  in  prin- 
ciple, and  equally  abominable  in  the  sight  of 
Him  who  is  "  a  just  God."  We  understand 
the  writer  to  mean  that  the  wicked  are  justified, 
when  they  are  entirely  acquitted  of  all  guilt,  and 
condign  punishment  is  all  remitted.  He  would 
not  surely  consider  it  wrong  and  abominable  in 
the  sight  of  God  that  the  wicked  should  be  re- 
claimed from  the  folly  and  error  of  their  ways, 
and  restored  to  the  wisdom  and  obedience  of  the 
just.  But  it  would  be  a  violation  of  all  righteous 
and  equitable  dealing,  to  overlook  the  criminal 
faults  and  sins  of  the  disobedient,  and  suffer  the 
wicked  to  go  unpunished.  Such  procedure, 
being  opposed  to  every  principle  of  the  divine 
government  as  declared  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
in  contravention  to  all  that  deserves  to  be  called 
equity,  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
Righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habitation 
of  his  throne ;  and  while  that  throne  securely 
stands,  he  can  neither  clear  the  guilty,  nor  sanc- 
tion the  justification  of  man  in  wickedness." 

Condemning  the  just  involves  the  same  odious 
principle  of  unrighteousness,  and  is  therefore  no 
less  abominable  to  Him  who  is  "righteous  in  all 
12* 


138  IJNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

his  ways."  To  visit  upon  the  innocent  and  un- 
olTending,  punishment  which  none  but  the  guilty 
deserve,  must  surely  be  a  detestable  thing  in  the 
eyes  of  a  holy,  just  and  benevolent  Being.  And 
any  system  of  religion  that  approves  such  con- 
duct and  involves  such  principles,  must  be  both 
false  in  fact,  and  pernicious  in  all  its  tendencies 
and  results.  It  tends  to  destroy  all  proper  dis- 
tinction between  justice  and  its  opposite;  and  it 
could  not  be  practiced  among  men  without  pro- 
ducing the  most  deleterious  effects,  both  to  mo- 
rals and  to  happiness.  It  would  remove  all 
protection  from  the  innocent,  and  offer  a  bounty 
upon  crime. 

Consider  for  a  moment  the  individual  by 
whom  the  abomination  of  which  Solomon  speaks 
is  practiced.  Select,  if  you  please,  the  Judge 
of  a  Court.  Two  men  are  apprehended  and  ar- 
raigned before  him  on  the  charge  of  murder. 
He  hears  the  testimony  of  witnesses  and  the 
pleadings  of  counsellors;  and  after  becoming 
acquainted  with  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  he  as- 
certains that  one  of  the  prisoners  is  guilty  of 
the  crime  alleged,  and  the  other  innocent.  But 
inseat  J  of  pronouncing  sentence  according  to  the 
evidence,  and  agreeably  to  equity  and  truth,  he 
justifies  the  wicked  man,  and  condemns  the 
just   person.     The  foul  murderer   is   let  loose 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  13^ 

again  upon  society  with  the  stain  of  innocent 
blood  upon  his  hands,  to  commit  new  depreda- 
tions upon  the  property  and  lives  of  virtuous 
citizens ;  while  the  unfortunate  man  who  com- 
mitted no  wrong,  is  slain  as  a  malefactor ! 

In  this  case,  the  penalty  of  the  law  was  indeed 
inflicted  ;  that  is,  a  man  was  executed  because  a 
murder  was  committed.  But  supposing  the  law 
itself  to  be  strictly  just  in  requiring  life  for  life, 
were  the  ends  of  justice  really  secured  in  this 
case  ?  Every  man  who  has  any  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  will  answer  that  greater  injustice 
was  done,  than  if  both  the  accused  had  been  set 
at  liberty.  The  execution  of  the  penalty  of  the 
law  has  no  possible  connexion  with  justice,  and 
violates  every  principle  of  right,  unless  the  pun- 
ishment fall  upon  the  guilty.  If  an  innocent 
man  should  even  voluntarily  offer  himself  as  a 
substitute  for  the  atrocious  murderer,  he  could 
not  in  justice  suffer  the  penalty  which  none  but 
the  guilty  deserved.  And  if  the  judge  should 
justify  the  wicked,  and  condemn  the  just,  and 
then  plead  in  justification  of  himself,  that  a 
righteous  man  had  freely  consented  to  bear  the 
punishment  which  another  merited,  his  plea 
would  be  a  vile  abomination  in  the  view  of  God, 
and  of  all  good  men  !  Such  a  judge  would  be 
considered  either  insane,  or  else  ''  desperately 


140  UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

wicked ;"  and  certainly  no  man  with  any  reason 
in  his  head  or  goodness  in  his  heart,  could  either 
approve  his  decision  or  exonerate  him  from  the 
crime  of  murder ! 

Both  guilt  and  innocency  are  personal  quali- 
ties, and  cannot  be  transferred  from  one  indivi- 
dual to  another.  If  I  were  to  commit  a  capital 
offence  against  the  laws  of  my  country,  the  in- 
fliction of  penalties  upon  ten  thousand  persons 
could  neither  remove  my  guilt,  nor  satisfy  the 
demands  of  law  and  justice.  /  should  be  the 
criminal,  and  upon  me  alone  could  the  punish- 
ment of  the  violated  law  be  justly  inflicted.  The 
language  of  Scripture  on  this  subject  is,  God 
"  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty."  Exodus 
xxxiv.  7.  "  Say  ye  to  the  righteous  that  it  shall 
be  well  with  him :  for  they  shall  eat  the  fruit  of 
their  doings.  Wo  unto  the  wicked!  it  shall  be 
ill  with  him :  for  the  reward  of  his  hands  shall 
be  given  him."  Isaiah  iii.  10,  11.  "  The  soul 
that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.  The  son  shall  not 
bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  neither  shall  the 
father  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  son :  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  righteous  shall  be  upon  him,  and  the 
wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon  him.'''' 
Ezekiel  xviii.  20.  "But  he  that  doeth  wrong 
shall  receive  for  the  wrong  which  he  hath  done  : 
and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons."     Col.  iii. 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  141 

25.  The  same  general  truth  is  plainly  recog- 
nized in  the  declaration  that  the  justification  of 
the  wicked  and  the  condemnation  of  the  just, 
are  both  abominable  to  the  Lord.  And  it  is  cer- 
tain that  this  very  abomination  would  be  com- 
mitted, if  a  wicked  man  were  acquitted,  and  a 
just  person  punished  in  his  stead. 

Keeping  the  foregoing  considerations  and 
Scripture  texts  distinctly  in  view,  let  us  now 
direct  our  attention  to  the  doctrine  of  atonement. 
Let  it  be  understood  that  we  firmly  believe,  aye, 
and  greatly  rejoice,  in  this  doctrine  as  we  find 
it  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  But  we 
are  convinced  that  monstrous  and  dangerous 
errors  have  long  been  held  by  those  who  style 
themselves  and  one  another  orthodox  and  evan- 
gelical Christians.  We  do  not  know  what  it  is 
that  exclusively  entitles  them  to  these  agreeable 
names ;  and  we  use  these  words  merely  to  be 
understood,  but  as  seldom  as  possible,  because 
they  have  been  so  abominably  abused.  We  wish 
to  state  the  views  of  those  who  arrogate  these 
Christian  names,  and  deny  them  to  others  who 
have  found  '*  a  more  excellent  way"  and  a  better 
faith,  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  atonement* 
Sush  statement  seems  necessary ;  and  the  con- 
trast that  shall  be  drawn  will  assist  the  reader 


142  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

to  understand  our  views  and  the  teachings  of 
the  divine  word  on  the  subject  proposed  for  dis- 
cussion. 

It  is  believed,  then,  that  all  mankind,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sin  of  Adam,  were  made  justly 
liable  to  the  unmerciful  wrath  of  Jehovah,  and 
to  the  ceaseless  torments  of  hell.  This  vast 
amount  of  suffering  and  woe  would  all  have  been 
inflicted,  but  for  the  most  gracious  and  merciful 
interposition  in  our  behalf  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Divine  justice  sternly  demanded  all  its 
claims,  and  the  Father  was  inexorable  in  his 
determination  to  inflict  the  full  and  tremendous 
penalty  of  his  dishonored  and  violated  law. 
Vengeance  he  would  have  to  the  full,  wherever 
it  might  fall ;  and  his  righteous  law  must  be  vin- 
dicated and  satisfied,  whoever  might  sutler  its 
fearful  penalty.  The  Son,  viewing  the  sad 
spectacle  of  woe  and  utter  ruin,  was  moved  to 
deep  and  tender  compassion.  He  pitied  the 
feeble  and  guilty  sons  of  men ;  and  rather  than 
see  his  Father  execute  all  his  fierce  and  relent- 
less vengeance,  and  our  whole  race  sink  into 
unceasing  and  hopeless  wretchedness,  he  gene- 
rously and  most  disinterestedly  consented  that 
the  uplifted  sword  of  justice  and  of  wrath  might 
be  bathed  in  his  own  blood  !  God  graciously 
accepted  the  offer ;  for  there  was  now  an  oppor- 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  143 

tunity  to  execute  vengeance  and  be  satisfied 
without  losing  the  whole  world  ;  and  in  order  to 
obtain  the  desired  satisfaction  for  his  broken 
law,  he  smote  in  fury  his  unoffending  Son  !  Dr. 
Watts  says  of  this  stupendous  work : 

"How  justice  frown'd  and  vengeance  stood. 

To  drive  me  down  to  endless  pain, 
But  the  great  Son  propos'd  his  blood, 

And  heavenly  wrath  grew  mild  again. 

Once  't  was  a  seat  of  dreadful  wrath, 

And  shot  devouring  flame, 
Our  God  appear'd  consuming  fire, 

And  Vengeance  was  his  name. 

Rich  were  the  drops  of  Jesus'  blood, 

That  calm'd  his  frowning  face, 
That  sprinkled  o'er  the  burning  throne, 

And  turn'd  the  wrath  to  grace. 

In  this  manner,  it  is  supposed,  divine  justice 
was  satisfied,  God  became  reconciled  to  the 
world,  his  wrath  was  turned  into  grace,  and  he 
can  now,  consistently  with  the  honor  of  his  law, 
and  the  dignity  of  his  character,  extend  mercy 
and  pardon  to  the  penitent  sinner.  A  vicarious 
sacrifice  having  been  made  in  behalf  of  .the 
world,  the  sovereign  judge  relaxed  his  severity, 
and  was  so  far  pacified  as  to  accept  the  oflfering. 
And  notwithstanding  mankind  were  tvicked,  and 


144  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

Jesus  just,  the  former  were  justified,  and  the 
latter  was  condemned  to  suffer  their  punish- 
ment ! 

While  some  believe  that  all  for  whom  Jesus 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,  are  forever  ac- 
quitted from  all  guilt  (because  another  has  borne 
all  their  punishment)  and  will  infallibly  attain  to 
the  resurrection  of  the  just  and  the  joys  of  the 
redeemed  in  glory;  others  hold  that  he  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  all  without  respect  of  per- 
sons, and  thus  made  it  possible  for  every  man 
to  be  saved,  on  certain  conditions,  with  which 
some  will  certainly  never  comply.  The  former 
of  these  opinions  was  hitherto  very  generally 
believed ;  but  the  latter  is  now  fast  gaining 
ground  and  rapidly  taking  its  place.  The  advo- 
cates of  both  these  opinions,  however,  contend 
that  all  men  were  justly  exposed  to  eternal  ruin  ; 
and  that  Christ  came  and  bore  the  punishment 
which  they  deserved,  and  thus  justified  the 
wicked  by  the  terrible  condemnation  of  the  just ! 
And  when  a  question  is  proposed  in  relation  to 
the  justice  of  God  in  this  supposed  procedure, 
we  are  gravely  certified  that  Jesus  freely  con- 
sented to  bear  the  punishment  of  the'guilty,  and 
that  tlic  claims  of  justice  are  fully  satisfied,  be- 
cause the  penalty  of  the  law  has  been  inflicted  ! 


I 


UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF.  145 

Reader,  Is  there  any  truth  in  such  notions  ? 
Are  they  any  more  entitled  to  belief  than  heathen 
fables  ?  We  wish  not  to  cast  reproach  upon 
those  who  believe  such  things.  But  why  should 
we  connive  at  a  mere  medley  of  injustice,  con- 
tradiction, and  absurdity,  because  it  is  put  forth 
as  the  greatest  beauties  and  excellencies  of 
Christian  doctrine  ?  We  have  no  scheme  to 
promote  by  an  affected  belief  of  any  thing  that 
outrages  reason  and  shocks  humanity.  And 
while  we  would  refrain  from  any  assaults  upon 
the  character  of  our  opposers,  we  have  little  pa- 
tience with  gross  errors  that  belong  to  darker 
times,  and  we  are  very  much  disposed  to  speak 
out  plainly,  and  call  things  by  their  right  names. 

But  the  reader  may  desire  an  expression  of 
the  doctrine  in  question  in  the  language  of  its 
believers  themselves.  The  desire  is  reasonable, 
and  shall  be  gratified.  We  feel  no  disposition 
to  misrepresent  this  doctrine ;  and  surely  it  is 
quite  bad  enough  when  presented  in  the  best 
light  in  which  it  has  ever  appeared.  We  prefer 
to  use  the  language  of  others  in  stating  what  they 
believe.  Would  that  our  opposers  were  thus 
governed  in  their  attacks  upon  the  faith  wKich 
we  cherish.  If  we  really  understood  each  other, 
our  differences  of  belief  would  be  materially  les- 
sened. The  receivers  of  our  doctrine  are  genc- 
13 


146  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

rally  well  acquainted  with  both  sides  of  the 
question,  having  been  educated  in  one  faith,  and 
are  now  believing  another ;  while  such  as  oppose 
us,  are  commonly  ignorant  of  the  reasons  and 
proofs  of  our  faith. 

In  the  latest  and  amended  edition  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly's  Catechism,  we  find 
the  following  article  of  faith: — "The  Lord 
Jesus,  by  his  perfect  obedience  and  offering  of 
himself,  which  he  through  the  eternal  spirit 
once  offered  up  unto  God,  hath  fully  satisfied 
the  justice  of  his  Father ;  and  purchased  not 
only  reconciliation,  but  an  everlasting  inheri- 
tance in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  for  all  those  the 
Father  hath  given  unto  him."  That  is,  Christ 
really  suffered  the  punishment  that  was  due  to 
sinful  men,  effectually  liquidated  the  claims  of 
divine  justice  against  them,  restored  them  to  the 
forfeited  love  of  God,  and  thus  secured  their  ul- 
timate glory  and  salvation.  The  same  doctrine 
is  also  contained  in  the  Articles  of  Religion  of 
the  Episcopal  and  of  the  Methodist  Churches, 
in  both  of  which  we  find  it  stated  that  Christ 
"truly  suffered,  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried, 
to  reconcile  his  Father  to  us,  and  to  be  a  sacri- 
fice, not  only  for  original  guilt,  but  also  for  ac- 
tual sins  of  men." 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  147 

Hence,  it  appears,  according  to  the  doctrine 
in  question,  that  Christ  was  punished  instead 
of  the  sinner ;  and  that  by  his  sufferings  and 
death,  vindictive  justice  was  satisfied,  and  God 
was  rendered  propitious  to  his  creatures !  "  God, 
in  his  infinite  wisdom,  (says  Watts)  did  not 
think  fit  to  pardon  sinful  man,  without  some 
compensation  for  his  broken  law ;  for,  1 .  If  the 
great  Ruler  of  the  world  had  pardoned  the  sins 
of  men  without  any  satisfaction,  then  his  laws 
might  have  seemed  not  worth  the  vindicating. 

2.  Men  would  have  been  tempted  to  persist  in 
their  rebellion,  and  to  repeat  their  old  offences. 

3.  His  forms  of  orovernment  amon^  his  creatures 
might  have  appeared  as  a  matter  of  little  impor- 
tance. 4.  God  had  a  mind  to  make  a  very  il- 
lustrious display  of  both  his  justice  and  of  his 
grace  among  mankind  ;  on  these  accounts  he 
would  not  pardon  sin  without  a  satisfaction^ 

Such  is  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  as  now 
held  by  most  professing  Christians  around  us. 
We  have  stated  it  in  the  very  language  of  its 
believers,  and  our  statements  have  been  drawn 
from  the  highest  authority  within  our  reach,  and 
we  may  add,  the  highest  authority  that  has  ever 
sanctioned  this  doctrine.  Its  utter  falsity  and 
dangerous  tendency  may  be  shown  in  a  few  mo- 
ments. 


148  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

A  consideration  of  the  character  and  govern- 
ment of  God,  in  the  light  of  the  Scriptures,  will 
go  far  toward  exploding  this  unreasonable  dog- 
ma. No  truth  of  the  Bible  is  more  clearly  ex- 
pressed, than  that  God  will  by  no  means  clear 
the  guilty,  but  will  render  unto  every  man  ac- 
cording to  his  deeds.  We  need  not  specify 
chapter  and  verse  to  prove  this  fact,  for  it  is  ge- 
nerally admitted,  and  none  doubt  that  it  appears 
prominently  both  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New 
Testaments. 

But  we  now  ask,  if  the  guilty  are  not  cleared, 
and  the  wicked  justified,  when  deserved  punish- 
ment is  removed  from  them,  and  inflicted  upon 
the  innocent  and  just  in  their  stead?  And  is  not 
the  principle  here  involved  pronounced  an 
*' abomination  to  the  Lord?"  And  shall  we 
charge  God  with  practicing  himself  that  which 
is  unjust  and  hateful  in  his  creatures  ?  It  will 
avail  nothing  to  assert  that  Jesus  voluntarily  in- 
curred the  penalty  which  was  our  due.  Allow- 
ing the  statement  to  be  true,  the  same  character 
is  still  imputed  to  God.  He  is  represented  as 
seeking  vengeance  to  compensate  his  broken 
law,  without  caring  whether  it  fell  upon  the 
guilty  or  the  innocent.  His  justice  required  the 
infliction  of  a  certain  amount  of  punishment,  no 
matter  who  misfht  be  the  sufl'erer.     And  God  is 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  149 

declared  to  have  been  well  satisfied,  and  recon- 
ciled to  man,  not  because  he  rendered  unto  his 
creatures  according  to  their  works,  and  thus 
executed  righteousness  and  justice  ;  but  because 
he  inflicted  that  punishment  which  none  but  the 
guilty  could  deserve,  upon  an  innocent  person  ! 
And  all  this,  we  are  told,  was  done,  that  God 
might  ^^make  a  very  illustrious  display  of  both 
his  JUSTICE  and  of  his  grace  /" 

Suppose  the  Judge  of  a  Court  should  make 
such  an  illustrious  display  of  his  justice,  and 
exonerate  the  foul  culprit  from  all  guilt,  and  in- 
flict the  punishment  which  he  alone  deserves, 
upon  a  peaceful,  virtuous,  and  innocent  citizen. 
Who  would  be  so  vile — so  lost  to  all  sense  of 
equity  and  right,  as  to  pronounce  such  conduct 
an  illustrious  display  of  justice  and  of  grace  ? 
To  attribute  such  procedure  to  Him  whose 
throne  is  built  upon  righteousness  and  judgment, 
and  who  abominates  the  justification  of  the 
wicked  and  the  condemnation  of  the  just,  is 
alike  preposterous  and  shocking  to  all  the  moral 
sensibilities  of  our  nature  ! 

Again,  the  doctrine  under  consideration  de- 
tracts from  the  loveliness  of  the  Divinity,  and 
ascribes  to  Jesus  Christ  far  greater  benevolence 
than  his  Father.  It  maintains  that  God  was  in- 
flexible in  his  determination  to  smite  the  human 
13* 


150  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

race  with  a  deadly  curse,  and  consign  them  en 
masse  to  interminable  ruin ;  but  that  Jesus, 
overpowered  with  compassion,  flew  upon  the 
wings  of  love  to  interpose  between  an  offended 
Judge  and  guilty  man,  and  received  the  fatal 
blow  upon  his  own  innocent  head  !  Jesus  was 
all  tenderness  and  mercy ;  but  God  must  be 
reconciled  to  us^  before  he  would  grant  any 
pardon ;  and  "it  is  here  alone,  (says  Watts,) 
that  we  can  find  the  solid  principle  of  reconcilia- 
tion to  an  offended  God.''''  The  Father  was 
angry,  and  disposed  to  injure;  but  the  Son  re- 
moved his  wrath,  turned  it  into  grace,  and 
caused  him  to  exercise  pity  ! 

If,  then,  God  was  offended  and  meant  to  do 
us  harm,  and  Jesus  came  to  appease  his  wrath, 
and  procure  for  us  his  pardoning  mercy,  Jesus 
was  certainly  better  disposed  toward  the  human 
race  than  was  his  Father.  And  in  view  of  such 
a  notion,  to  say  that  the  Father  and  the  Son  are, 
after  all,  but  one  Being  in  reality,  though  exist- 
ing in  different  persons ;  and  that  they  equally 
loved  mankind,  notwithstanding  the  former  was 
filled  with  burning  indignation  against  us,  is  a 
jargon  of  mysticism  and  absurdity,  that  we  are 
unable  to  understand  !  Whatever  may  be  said 
in  denial  of  the  fact,  the  doctrine  before  us  docs 
represent  Jesus  as  far  more  lenient  and  merciful 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 


151 


than  his  Father.  And  this  fact  alone  is  sufficient 
to  show  that  the  doctrine  is  unscriptural  and 
witlioiit  foundation  in  truth.  In  all  his  instruc- 
tions, Jesus  never  gave  a  hint  that  has  come 
down  to  us,  that  he  came  into  the  world  to  save 
men  from  the  wrath  of  his  Father,  by  suffering 
the  punishment  which  was  their  due,  or  by  any 
other  means.  But  he  invariably  taught  that  God 
loved  the  ivorld,  and  that  he  came  to  do  the  will 
of  God. 

Again,  The  moral  precepts  of  the  gospel  re- 
quire ns  to  be  imitators  of  God,  and  be  perfect, 
even  as  he  is  perfect.  But  who  does  not  per- 
ceive that  an  imitation  of  his  character  according 
to  the  doctrine  now  under  consideration,  would 
entirely  violate  all  righteousness  and  justice, 
and  subject  the  innocent  to  the  punishment  of 
the  guilty?  Let  the  believer  in  this  doctrine 
exemplify  it  in  his  family,  and  in  his  intercourse 
among  men.  If  he  has  ten  children,  and  nine 
of  them  are  vile  and  graceless  wretches,  and  the 
other  a  virtuous  and  obedient  child,  let  him 
vindicate  the  honor  of  the  parental  law,  and 
make  an  illustrious  display  of  his  justice,  by 
^iflicting  all  the  punishment  due  to  the  rebels, 
upon  his  dutiful  and  unoffending  child  !  True, 
he  must  first  obtain  the  consent  of  his  innocent 


153  IJNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

child,  and  then  he  will  show  his  faith  by  his 
works,  and  make  an  illustrious  display  of  justice 
and  grace ! 

Can  such  a  doctrine  be  practiced  among  men, 
and  carried  out  into  all  the  concerns  of  life,  and 
produce  the  fruits  of  righteousness  required  of 
the  Christian  disciple?  It  surely  cannot.  And 
we  think  it  high  time  that  all  such  notions  were 
set  aside,  and  others  introduced  that  shall  be 
more  compatible  with  the  spirit  of  justice,  and 
better  calculated  to  promote  the  morality  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  doctrine  of  atonement  is  very  plainly 
taught  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  it  there  appears 
consistent  with  reason,  truth  and  justice.  In 
directing  our  minds  to  that  source  of  knowledge, 
we  find  nothing  said  of  Christ's  expiring  upon 
the  cross  to  placate  the  vengeance  of  his  Father, 
and  to  reconcile  him  to  man.  But  we  are  plainly 
certified  that  God  commended  his  love  toward 
us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ 
died  for  us.  Romans,  v.  8.  Jesus  came  not  to 
save  man  from  the  just  punishment  of  his  sins  ; 
for  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as  the  Old,  de- 
clares that  God  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty,  but  render  unto  every  man  according  to 
his  deeds.  But  he  came  to  reconcile  the  world 
unto  God,  and  to  deliver  us  from  the  service  of 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  153 

sin,  that  we  might  no  longer  suffer  its  unhappy 
effects.  And  although  he  suffered  for  us,  or  in 
our  behalf,  we  nowhere  read  that  he  was  ever 
punished,  and  mucli  less  that  he  devised  some 
means  by  which  to  clear  the  guilty.  The  inno- 
cent may  suffer  in  behalf  of  the  guilty,  but  none 
except  the  guilty  can  be  punished.  Our  fathers 
suffered  for  their  country,  to  obtain  blessings 
which  we  now  enjoy ;  but  they  were  not  pun- 
ished in  our  stead.  Jesus  also  suffered  for  us 
in  the  flesh,  the  just  for  the  unjust ;  but  he  was 
never  the  victim  of  punishment.  Though  "  he 
was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
griefs,"  he  suffered  no  penalty.  And  though  he 
"  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,"  it  was  not  to 
reconcile  God  to  man,  but  the  world  to  God. 

The  word /jafa/Zfto-e,  variously  rendered  recon- 
ciliation and  atonement  in  the  New  Testament, 
means  a  restoration  to  peace,  union  and  concord, 
where  enmity  had  before  existed.  But  it  should 
be  understood  that  this  word  is  translated  atone- 
ment hut  once  in  all  the  New  Testament;  and 
even  in  that  place  all  will  allow  that  it  should 
be  reconciliation.  The  particular  passage  to 
which  we  refer,  is  Romans  v.  ii.,  "And  not  only 
so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received 
the  atonemenf^ — the  marginal  reading  is  recon^ 


154  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

dliatioji.  But  the  received  version  is  quite  un- 
exceptionable, provided  the  word  atonement  be 
understood  accordinor  to  its  true  meaninor.  Cal- 
met  says,  "  We  have  evidently  lost  the  true  im- 
port of  this  word,  by  our  present  manner  of  pro- 
nouncing it.  When  it  was  customary  to  pro- 
nounce the  word  one  as  0W7i  (as  in  the  time  of 
our  translators)  the  word  atonement  was  resolv- 
able into  its  parts,  at-one-ment,  or  the  means  of 
being  at  one,  i.  e.  reconciled,  united,  combined 
in  fellowship."  Such  is  plainly  the  meaning  of 
atonement.  And  thus  viewed,  it  is  seen  to  be 
entirely  synonymous  with  reconciliation. 

Now  the  supposition  that  the  work  of  atone- 
ment was  all  completed  by  the  one  offering  of 
Jesus  Christ  upon  the  cross,  and  that  he  died  to 
satisfy  divine  justice,  and  reconcile  his  Father 
to  us,  is  certainly  at  variance  with  Scripture  and 
truth.  In  the  dying  cry,  "It  is  finished,"  he 
knew  that  he  had  drank  the  bitter  cup  of  death, 
and  that  his  sufferings  were  ended.  But  his 
death,  so  far  from  completing  the  work  of  atone- 
ment, was  only  one  of  the  means  of  reconcilia- 
tion, and  no  more  essential  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  that  work,  than  was  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  Hence  Paul  says  of  Jesus,  Rom. 
iv.  25,  "  Who  was  delivered  for  our  offences, 
and  was  raised  again  for  our  justification^ 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  155 

Is  it  not  plain  from  this  passage  that  our  justifi- 
cation unto  life  depends  as  much  upon  the  re- 
surrection  as  upon  the  death  of  Christ?  No 
person  will  question  the  fact  that  justification  is 
included  in  the  work  of  atonement.  And  if  this 
work  was  all  completed  by  the  suiTerings  of  the 
cross,  why  should  it  be  affirmed  that  he  "  was 
raised  again  for  our  justification?'* 

After  speaking  at  considerable  length  of  the 
death  of  Christ,  Paul  says,  1st  Cor.  xv.  14, 
"And  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preach- 
ing vain^  Although  Jesus  had  offered  himself 
upon  the  cross  and  endured  the  sufferings  of 
death,  all  was  vain,  and  the  gospel  of  none  ef- 
fect, if  he  was  not  risen  from  the  dead.  His 
death  was  not  sufficient :  for  we  receive  the  as- 
surance of  final  justification  unto  life  through  his 
resurrection.  Reconciliation  is  a  progressive 
work,  and  all  the  labors  and  sufferings  of  Jesus 
are  but  means  to  its  accomplishment.  He  has 
undertaken  to  reconcile,  not  God  unto  the  world 
— for  God  never  needed  to  be  reconciled — but 
the  world  unto  God.  And  the  work  will  be  fully 
consummated  when  all  things  are  reconciled  to 
God,  and  every  knee  bows,  and  every  tongue 
confesses  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father ! 


156  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

The  subject  of  atonement  or  reconciliation,  'js 
well  as  the  extent  of  the  work,  is  most  clearly 
exhibited  in  the  following  testimonies  of  Scrip- 
ture. "All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  recon- 
ciled us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath 
given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  ;  to 
wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  tres- 
passes unto  them."  2d  Cor.  v.  18,  19.  "  For  it 
pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  (Christ)  should 
all  fulness  dwell ;  and  having  made  peace  through 
the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all 
things  unto  himself,  by  him,  I  say,  whether  they 
be  things  rn  earth,  or  things  in  heaven."  Col. 
i.  19,  30.  It  was  the  purpose  of  God  to  recon- 
cile sinful  and  suffering  man  to  himself;  and  he 
appointed  his  Son,  whom  he  has  exalted  to  be  a 
Prince  and  a  Savior,  to  effect  this  gracious  work. 
Jesus  received  a  name  which  is  above  every 
name,  and  was  invested  with  all  power  in  hea- 
ven and  earth,  that  he  might  be  enabled  success- 
fully to  pros'ecute  and  complete  this  merciful 
reconciliation.  The  sins  of  the  world  will  not 
be  so  imputed  to  man,  as  to  render  the  work  in- 
effectual. And  although  it  is  not  yet  finished, 
the  promise   of  Ilim  who  cannot  lie,  has  been 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  157 

given,  that  he  shall  prosper  in  the  iindertaking, 
and  at  last  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be 
satisfied. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  Jesus  Christ 
died  io  purchase  divine  mercy  for  the  sinner,  or 
to  turn  the  wrath  of  God  into  grace.  His  death 
was  a  manifestation  of  divine  favor  and  compas- 
sion in  behalf  of  the  world.  He  died  to  abolish 
the  whole  law  of  sacrifices,  and  to  open  unto 
man  a  new  and  living  way  of  constant  access  to 
the  Father  of  mercies.  And  he  arose  from  the 
dead  to  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light ;  to 
give  us  the  sure  pledge  of  our  resurrection ;  and 
to  impart  to  us  the  full  assurance  of  faith  and 
of  hope,  that  we  shall  through  him,  in  the  better 
world  be  reconciled,  united,  and  combined  in 
fellowship  to  his  Father  and  our  Father,  his 
God  and  our  God. 

And  it  is  also  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  en- 
tire work  of  atonement  was  finished  in  the  mere 
death  of  our  Lord  and  Savior.  It  is  indeed  con- 
summated in  the  purpose  of  God,  and  was  be- 
fore the  world  began  ;  but  it  is  not  yet  actually 
accomplished.  Nay,  the  work  is  now  prose- 
cuted no  farther  than  men  have  really  become 
reconciled  to  God.  It  is  still  in  progress  :  and 
when  it  shall  be  completed,  "the  whole  family 
in  heaven  and  earth,"  shall  be  gathered  into  one 
14 


158 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 


fold— the  subjects  of  the  resurrection  shall  be 
equal  unto  the  angels — and  God  shall  be  all  in 
all !  Nothing  will  be  left  imperfect — nothing 
will  fail  of  all  thai  God  has  promised — but  the 
whole  world  will  be  reconciled  to  the  owner  of 
all  souls,  and  "  the  Savior  of  all  men." 

"Thou  hast  (says  Paul)  put  all  things  in  sub- 
jection under  his  feet.  For  in  that  he  hath  put 
all  things  in  subjection  under  him,  he  left  no- 
thing that  is  not  put  under  him.  But  now  we 
see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him.  But  we 
f^ee  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with 
glory  and  honor  ;  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God 
should  taste  death  for  every  man."  Heb.  ii.  8, 
9.  Wc  "  see  not  yeV  the  end,  "  but  believing, 
we  rejoice  witli  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
o^lory."  We  trust  that  God  will  be  glorified  in 
all  his  works;  and  we  hope,  without  doubting, 
that  every  man  will  finally  reach  his  '*  chief  and 
highest  end,'"  which  is  to  ''glorify  God,  and 
fully  to  c>\joy  him  forever.'''' 


CHAPTER  XI. 


REPENTANCE. 


We  are  sometimes  accused  of  not  preaching 
repentance  and  forgiveness ;  and  on  this  ground 
we  have  been  denied  the  evangelical  name  and 
character.  The  accuser,  however,  is  mistaken. 
These  thinors  run  through  all  our  public  minis- 
trations of  divine  truth  ;  and  we  cease  not  to  ex- 
hort men  to  exercise  repentance  toward  God  and 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  assu= 
ranee  of  remission  of  sins  to  all  who  turn  to  the 
Lord  with  full  purpose  of  heart.  But  it  must  be 
confessed  that  we  do  not  handle  these  subjects 
after  the  manner  adopted  by  many  of  our  Chris- 
lian  brethren.  We  have' different  views  of  hu- 
man nature,  and  of  the  proper  instrumentalities 
to  reclaim  men  from  vice  and  destruction.  We 
apply  different  means,  and  appeal  to  other  mo- 
tives of  the  heart.  And  in  the  way  which  we 
judge  to  be  right,  we  constantly  teach  and  enforce 
the  very  things,  which  others  suppose  that  we 
utterly  discard.  >  But  the  misunderstanding  ori- 
ginates with  themselves.     They  claim  to  preach 


160  TTNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

the  doctrines  in  question  just  as  they  are  taught 
in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  hence  suppose  that  all 
who  differ  from  them  must  consequently  be  at 
variance  with  the  instructions  of  the  divine  word. 
But  they  would  soon  perceive  the  injustice  of 
their  charge  against  us,  if  they  would  only  con- 
sider that  a  different  manner  of  preaching  the 
same  doctrine,  does  not  necessarily  imply  that 
either  party  denies  and  rejects  such  doctrine. 
We  should  not  feel  justified  in  accusing  others 
of  failing  to  preach  salvation,  because  they  view 
this  subject  in  a  somewhat  different  light  from 
that  in  which  it  appears  to  our  own  minds.  And 
wo  feel  unwilling  to  be  accused  ourselves  on  any 
such  grounds. 

All  who  profess  to  be  Christians,  of  every 
name,  preach  repentance  and  forgiveness.  And 
it  is  no  mark  of  a  just  and  charitable  spirit  for 
one  denomination  to  charge  any  other  with  a 
denial  of,  or  a  failure  to  proclaim,  these  impor- 
tant doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  If  any  suppose 
that  our  views  on  these  subjects  are  erroneous, 
or  that  we  arc  unfaithful  in  urging  them  upon 
the  attention  of  sinful  men ;  let  them  candidly 
state  what  we  believe,  and  fairly  expose  our 
errors  ;  and  let  them  also  reprove  our  negligence 
of  duty.  Wo  claim  no  infallibility  of  belief,  nor 
blamelcssness  of  practice.     And  we  hope  to  for- 


UMVERSAI.IST   BELIF.F.  101 

sake  our  errors  when  they  are  made  known  ; 
iind  also  to  profit  by  friendly  admonitions  to 
more  faithfulness  in  the  cause  of  our  Master. 
But  unfounded  accusations  against  us,  neither 
tend  to  enlio;hten  our  understandino;s  and  correct 
us  in  righteousness,  nor  to  impress  our  minds  with 
very  favorable  opinions  of  the  character  of  the 
accuser. 

No  subject  within  the  whole  range  of  Chris- 
tian theology  is  more  frequently  made  the  theme 
of  discourse  than  rrpenfance ;  and  perhaps  upon 
no  other  is  so  much  said  with  little  understand- 
ing. The  word  itself  seems  to  be  freely  used 
by  common  consent,  without  sufficiently  consi- 
dering its  true  and  scriptural  import.  But  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  if  it  be  constantly  re- 
peated with  great  warmth  of  feeling  and  earnest- 
ness of  manner,  many  will  at  once  conclude  that 
the  preaching  must  be  highly  evangelical  in  its 
character,  and  of  the  most  desirable  tendency. 
And  it  is  quite  possible  that  some  persons  rest 
satisfied  with  the  mere  sound  of  the  word,  with- 
out caring  to  seek  for  the  real  sense  intended 
Because  v/e  do  not  perpetually  reiterate-  this 
word,  is  one  great  reason  why  superficial  think- 
ers, who  regard  sound  more  than  sense,  charge 
us  with  not  preaching  repentance. 
14^ 


162  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

Like  many  other  theological  terms,  repent- 
ance is  used  in  a  vague  and  indefinite  sense,  and 
in  accordance  with  established  opinion  and  gene- 
ral prejudice.  And  the  same  is  true  of  "  born 
again,"  "regenerated,"  "converted,"  etc.  These 
several  expressions  are  all  used  now-a-days  to 
express  the  same  general  idea ;  but  the  thing 
signified,  though  most  people  suppose  they  un- 
derstand it,  is  not  easily  explained.  There  is  a 
darkness  and  mystery  about  the  common  accepta- 
tion of  these  terms.  And  the  operation  and 
change  supposed  to  be  effected  in  the  mind  by 
repentance^  are  so  badly  defined  and  imperfectly 
understood,  that  common  prejudice  and  the  con- 
firmed habits  of  thought  with  the  people,  arc 
made  to  determine  the  meaning  intended,  if  in- 
deed real  meaning  be  considered. 

Now  we  are  willing  to  admit  that  there  are 
subjects  embraced  in  the  Christian  revelation, 
which  appear  not  to  be  clearly  explained  in  all 
respects,  and  concerning  which  there  must  con- 
sequently be  some  indefiniteness  in  the  mind  of 
the  believer.  For  instance,  the  precise  time 
when  all  the  dead  shall  be  raised,  and  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  shall  be  delivered  up  to  his  Father, 
is  not  really  stated;  and  in  reflecting  upon  this 
particular  topic,  it  is  not  strange  that  we  should 
form  various  opinions  that  will  not  admit  of 
«-,\ti«;far-.tr>rv  pynhinntinn   and   nroof.      The  same 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  163 

may  be  said  of  the  mode  of  our  existence  beyond 
death,  and  of  the  employment  of  man  in  the 
future  state  of  being.  But  repentance  is  a  thing 
that  immediately  affects  our  interests  and  happi- 
ness, and  there  need  be  no  diversity  of  opinion 
concerning  what  it  means.  It  seems  to  be  em- 
braced in  the  very  first  principles  or  rudiments 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  And  we  regard  it  as 
one  of  the  most  simple  subjects,  and  the  most 
easily  understood,  of  any  presented  for  our  ac- 
ceptance and  belief  in  the  word  of  God.  In  our 
view  it  signifies  no  mysterious  operation  of 
mind — no  supernatural  change  of  human  nature 
— but  is  all  embraced  in  the  simple  word,  refor- 
mation. We  do  not  mean  that  every  change  in 
man  for  the  better,  should  be  considered  repent- 
ance in  the  fullest  and  highest  sense  of  the  word. 
The  gospel  of  Christ  requires  something  more 
than  the  cold  morality  of  heathenism  ;  and  the 
repentance  which  he  preached  was  far  different 
from  any  reformation  of  life  ever  proposed  by 
the  sages  and  moralists  of  the  world.  But  gos- 
pel repentance  is  still  a  very  plain  subject — the 
means  by  which  it  is  produced  are  easily  under- 
stood— and  the  happy  effects  which  it  yields 
are  felt  and  enjoyed  by  every  true-hearted 
Christian. 


16  4  UNIVERSALIST  BELIF.F. 

It  should,  liowever,  be  iinderslood  in  the  out- 
set, that  there  are  two  words  of  very  diflereiU 
signification,  uniformly  rendered  repent  in  the 
common  version  of  the  New  Testament — meta- 
noeo  and  metamelomia.  Of  these  words  Dr. 
Campbell  says,  6th  Pre.  Diss,  part  3d,  "It  has 
been  observed  by  some,  and  I  think  with  reason, 
that  the  former  properly  denotes  a  change  for 
the  better;  the  latter  barely  a  change,  wiiether 
it  be  to  the  better  or  to  the  worse  ;  that  the  for- 
mer marks  a  change  of  mind  that  is  durable  and 
productive  of  consequences  ;  the  latter  expresses 
only  a  present  uneasy  feeling  of  regret  and  sor- 
row for  what  is  done,  without  regard  either  to 
duration  or  to  eflects  ;  in  fine,  that  the  first  may 
properl}^  be  translated  into  English,  I  re/brm; 
the  second,  I  repent,  in  the  familiar  acceptation 
of  the  word."  The  same  author  again  says,  in 
the  same  Dissertation,  "  Every  one  who  reforms, 
repents  ;  but  every  one  who  repents,  does  not 
reform.''^ 

A  reference  to  a  few  passages  will  sufficiently 
explain  the  real  dilTerence  of  meaning  between 
the  two  words  in  question.  Paul  says,  2  Cor. 
vii.  10,  "For  godly  sorrow  worketli  repentance 
to  salvation  not  to  be  repented  of."  Here  we 
find  in  the  common  version  the  word  repentance 
first  used  to  signify  a  genuine  reformation  of 
heart  and  life  ;  an;!  afterwards  the  same  word  is 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  165 

employed  to  show  lliat  such  reformation  need 
not  be  repented  of,  regretted,  or  changed.  The 
words  here  used  are  different  in  the  original 
text ;  and  their  real  dissimilarity  of  meaning  is 
made  obvious  from  the  very  construction  of  the 
passage.  Godly  sorrow  produces  a  desirable 
change,  that  is  well  expressed  by  the  word 
reformation.  It  would,  hovvever,  be  absurd  to 
say  that  such  a  change  is  not  to  be  reformed ; 
but  all  can  understand  that  it  need  not  be  re- 
pented of,  or  regretted. 

When  John  the  Baptist  came  preaching  in 
the  wilderness  of  Judea,  he  called  upon  men  to 
reform.  But  when  Paul  said,  Rom.  xi.  29, 
*'  For  the  gifts  and  callings  of  God  are  without 
repentance,''''  he  had  not  allusion  to  any  refor- 
mation of  life,  or  to  any  kind  of  change  in  man. 
He  meant  merely  to  assert  the  fact,  that  the  gifts 
and  callings  of  God  are  irrevocable,  that  is,  not 
to  be  changed  or  reversed,  and  not  to  be  repented 
of.  The  same  sense  of  the  word  repentance 
also  occurs  in  the  passage  relating  to  Esau, 
Heb.  xii.  17,  "  For  he  found  no  place  of  repent- 
ance, though  he  sought  it  carefully  with  tears." 
It  was  not  personal  reformation  of  character  that 
this  man  sought,  but  a  mere  change  or  revoca- 
tion of  what  had  taken  place.     "This  change 


160  VMVERSALTST  BF.LIEF. 

was  wlial  he  tbiiiul  no   possibility  of  eflecliiig"* 
however  earnestly  or  movingly  he  sought  it." 

We  now  use  the  word  repentance,  not  accord- 
ing to  the  sense  which  it  bears  as  applied  to  the 
change  that  Esau  desired  to  effect ;  but  as  it  was 
employed  by  our  Savior  and  his  apostles  in  their 
constant  and  earnest  calls  upon  men  to  forsake 
their  sins  and  reform  their  lives.  Both  the  har- 
binger of  Jesus  and  the  Master  himself  com- 
menced their  public  ministry  in  the  world,  with 
the  emphatic  command  for  men  to  repent,  be- 
cause the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  at  hand,  and 
about  to  be  established  in  the  earth.  They 
would  have  deluded  and  sinful  men  turn  from 
their  follies  and  vices,  give  a  listening  ear  and 
an  understanding  heart,  and  thus  be  restored  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  just  and  the  joys  of  obedience 
to  God.  The  repentance  which  they  preached 
was  reformation — a  turning  from  vanity  to  the 
counsels  of  wisdom,  and  from  the  service  of  sin 
to  the  love  and  practice  of  godliness  and  virtue. 
But  it  implied  no  mysterious  and  undefinable 
emotions  of  soul — no  miraculous  transformation 
of  human  nature — but  the  call  was  obeyed,  and 
the  fruits  of  genuine  repentance  brought  forth 
and  enjoyed,  when  men  were  induced  by  the 
influence  of  good  principles  to  break  off  their 


UNIVERPALIST  BELIEF.  157 

Sins  by  righteousness,  and  their  iniquity  by 
turning  to  the  Lord. 

The  work  of  repentance  which  our  Savior 
and  his  apostles  labored  to  produce  in  those  to 
whom  they  ministered,  was  of  a  somewhat 
different  character  from  that  which  we  now 
strive  to  effect.  At  least  it  was  intended  to  be 
more  deep,  thorough  and  radical  than  any  change 
that  is  really  necessary  in  the  sphere  of  our  la- 
bors. They  did  not  preach  a  religion  in  which 
the  people  had  been  educated,  and  seek  to  revive 
in  their  minds  a  recollection  of  the  lessons  of 
duty  received  in  childhood.  They  endeavored 
to  break  up  the  very  foundations  of  existing 
society  ;  and  to  introduce  not  only  a  new  code 
of  morals,  but  also  to  establish  a  new  and  better 
dispensation  of  religion.  They  required  men 
to  forsake  all  that  they  had  been  taught  and  pos- 
sessed— to  begin  life  again  as  new-born  infants — - 
to  be  transformed  in  the  spirit  of  their  minds — 
and  to  walk  in  newness  of  life. 

The  world  was  wedded  to  false  doctrines,  and 
rendered  miserable  by  the  practice  and  influence 
of  corrupt  principles.  It  w^as  the  business  .of 
the  Baptist  to  call  men  away  from  their  follies 
and  sins  ;  and  it  was  the  object  of  the  greater 
teacher  and  the  chosen  ambassadors  of  his  truth 
to  give  them  spiritual  birth  into  the  heavenly 


168  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

kingdom.  .Tohn  prepared  the  way;  and  Christ 
led  forth  the  captive  from  bondage,  and  con- 
ducted the  wandering  into  the  paths  of  wisdom 
and  peace.  And  so  great  was  the  change 
wrought  by  the  ministry  of  truth,  that  such  as 
received  the  gospel  and  were  made  subject  to 
its  influence,  were  represented  as  having  died  in 
one  state,  and  been  made  alive  in  another. 
"  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  (says  Paul  to  the 
Romans,)  ye  also  are  become  dead  to  the  law 
by  the  body  of  Christ;  that  ye  should  be  married 
to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  raised  from  the 
dead,  that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God." 
The  same  change  cannot  be  produced  in  any 
man  who  has  been  educated  a  Christian.  In 
such  a  case  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  individual 
should  leave  all  that  he  has  been  taught ;  but  he 
should  rather  be  made  sensible  of  his  early  les- 
sons, and  reminded  of  the  good  counsels  which 
he  has  rejected. 

But  though  we  live  in  a  Christian  community, 
where  the  gospel  is  taught  even  to  children,  and 
blended  with  common  education,  it  is  no  less 
important  that  men  should  repent  and  receive 
the  remission  of  sins  noiv,  than  it  was  when 
Jesus  lived  on  earth.  The  same  change  in  all 
respects  cannot  be  effected ;  but  the  time  has 
never  been  known  in  the  world  when  repentance 


UMVERSALIST  BELIEF.  189 

was  unnecessary  to  man.  The  best  of  men  are 
sinners  against  God,  and  subject  to  faults  that 
need  correction.  And  surely  when  we  cast  our 
eyes  over  society,  and  behold  the  prevalence  of 
sin,  and  its  dreadful  consequences,  we  cannot 
suppose  that  repentance  has  yet  done  its  work. 
There  is  among  us  a  fearful  disregard  of  God. 
His  name  is  blasphemed  in  the  streets,  and  vice 
walks  abroad  at  noonday  unrebuked.  Intempe- 
rance, avarice,  and  selfish  ambition  have  almost 
become  the  ruling  powers  of  our  country.  And 
these  dangerous  evils,  and  others  less  alarming, 
have  spread  their  poisonous  influence  throughout 
all  the  ramifications  of  society,  so  that  there  are 
none  among  us  that  rightly  fear  God  and  faith- 
fully keep  his  commandments.  Privileges  have 
been  abused  and  mercies  despised,  until  as  a 
people  and  as  individuals  we  stand  condemned 
in  the  sight  of  righteous  heaven  for  our  mean 
progress  in  religious  knowledge  and  reforma- 
tion. 

What  must  be  done  to  promote  the  necessary 
work  of  repentance  ?  Men  must  be  brought  to 
see  the  evil  of  their  doings,  and  to  understand 
the  excellency  of  that  Beinor  aorainst  whom  thev 
ha\'e  inconsiderately  transgressed.  Apprehen- 
sions of  danger  from  sin,  and  the  sorrow  of  mind 
thus  produced,  can  lead  to  no  worthy  and  solid 
15 


170  LLMVERSALIST   BELIEF. 

reformation  of  life.  Man  may  mourn  over  past 
transgressions,  and  tremble  in  view  of  future 
consequences,  and  still  experience  in  his  soul 
no  deep  and  salutary  change.  His  outward  con- 
duct may  seem  more  accordant  to  the  requisitions 
of  the  Gospel,  but  the  principles  within  are  still 
the  same;  and  "the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt 
according  to  the  deceitful  lusts,"  still  lives  and 
rules.  But  let  the  real  evil  and  malignant  nature 
of  sin  be  seen  and  felt ;  let  it  be  known  that  the 
law  to  which  God  commands  obedience  "is 
holy,  just  and  good;"  and  let  the  mind  be 
brought  to  loathe  the  wrong  and  to  love  the 
right,  and  man's  repentance  will  be  sincere,  ef- 
fectual, and  lasting  in  its  happy  effects.  Such 
is  the  repentance  which  the  gospel  aims  to  pro- 
mote. It  presents  ^^  the  goodness  of  GocV^  as 
the  foundation  of  reformation ;  and  urges  an 
imitation  of  the  divine  rectitude  and  benevolence 
as  the  only  acceptable  course  of  life.  And  when 
men  behold  the  beauty  and  excellency  of  good- 
ness as  displayed  in  the  God  of  Love,  they  will 
realize  the  unspeakable  importance  of  conformity 
to  his  character,  and  delight  in  his  law  "  after 
the  inner  man." 

Mr.  Shinn,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  truly 
and  eloquently  says,  in  his  late  work  "  On  the 
Benevolence  and  Rectitude  of  the  Supreme  Be- 


I'MVERSALTST   BKLIEF.  171 

ing,"  "  The  essential  character  of  God  is  a  sub- 
ject of  primary  importance  to  the  whole  intelli- 
gent universe.  On  this  depends  the  reformation 
of  the  sinner,  the  perseverance  of  the  saint,  the 
consolation  of  the  afflicted  and  dying,  and  the 
perpetual  tranquillity  of  all  the  hosts  of  heaven. 
A  sinner  may  be  terrified  by  mere  apprehensions 
of  punishment ;  but  a  true  and  sentimental  re- 
pentance will  never  take  place  in  his  mind,  nor 
a  genuine  reformation  in  his  life,  till  he  shall 
liave  some  tolerably  correct  views  concerning 
tlie  excellency  of  the  Divine  nature.  The  good- 
ness of  C4od  must  lead  him  to  repentance.  For 
it  is  opposition  to  a  good  Being,  and  to  a  good 
law  wliich  has  rendered  his  own  character  a  bad 
one.  This  evil  of  his  heart  and  life,  the  penitent 
honestly  acknowledges;  which  implies  a  full 
admission  in  his  intelligence,  that  the  Being 
against  whoai  he  has  been  standing  in  opposi- 
tion, is  as  excellent  as  he  is  himself  vile.  With- 
out such  a  conviction,  there  can  be  no  sentimen- 
tal repentance  ;  and  if  repentance  be  not  senti- 
mental,  how  can  ii  he  sincere?  pp.  11,  12. 

Never  have  we  heard  any  tiring  m.ore  perti- 
nent and  sensible  on  the  subject  of  repentance. 
Our  own  views  of  the  subject  are  here  clearly 
and  fully  expressed.  And  the  desire  of  our  heart 
and  the  object  of  our  constant  labors  in  the  cause 


172  UMVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

of  Christ,  is,  to  exliibit  that  divine  goodness, 
which  Paul  declares,  '^leadeth  to  repentance,'''' 
to  show  the  hateful  nature  and  unhappy  conse- 
quences of  opposition  to  this  goodness — and  thus 
to  lead  men  away  from  folly  and  sin  into  the 
wisdom  and  obedience  of  the  Christian  charac- 
ter. In  this  way  we  cease  not  to  preach  repen- 
tance. The  whole  course  of  our  ministry  tends 
to  promote  the  work  of  reformation.  And  in 
proportion  as  men  are  brought  to  see  their  own 
vileness  in  contrast  with  the  goodness  of  God, 
they  will  abhor  themselves,  and  strive  to  become 
god-like  in  feeling  and  practice.  "  Opposition 
to  a  ffood  Beino^"  is  thus  removed — God's  ex- 
cellency  appears  glorious  and  lovely,  and  man's 
vileness  more  and  more  abominable — the  heart 
and  affections  are  enlisted — and  "  sentimental 
repentance"  and  "  genuine  reformation"  of  life 
follow  as  the  happy  and  permanent  result. 

In  this  view  of  the  subject  it  is  easily  per- 
ceived that  the  word  repentance  may  be  loudly 
and  frequently  reiterated,  without  the  actual 
preaching  of  gospel  repentance.  And  it  is  also 
plain  to  be  seen  that  this  important  doctrine  of 
our  holy  religion,  may  be  zealously  and  effec- 
tively proclaimed,  without  so  much  as  using  the 
word  by  which  it  is  commonly  expressed.  Ter- 
rifying   sinners   "  by   mere     appreliensions    of 


UXIVERSALTST   BRLIF.F.  173 

pimishmenl,"  is  not.  preaching  repentance.    And 
although  great  apparent  eff'ects  may  be  produced 
by  such  means,  and  men  may  thus  be  measura- 
bly restrained  from  open   acts  of  transgression, 
no  man  can  be  led  to  repent  as  God  requires, by 
any  such  ministrations.     John  the  Baptist  and 
our  Savior  exhorted  men  to  repent,  because  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  which  manifests  the  favor 
and  love  of  God,  was  at  hand.     Peter  urged  the 
Jews  to  the  same  duty,  by  the  assurance  that 
the  promise  of  God  was  to  them   and  to  their 
children,  and  that  they  were  all  embraced  in  that 
covenant  of  redemption,  which  proposes  to  turn 
away  every  man  from  his  iniquities.     See  Acts 
3.     And  Paul  is  no  less  explicit  in  his  instruc- 
tions on   this  subject,  in  thus  reproving  man's 
ninful  perverseness  and  blind  "  opposition  to  a 
good  Being:" — "Or  despisest  thou  the  riches 
of  his  goodness,  and  forbearance  and  long-suf- 
fering ;  not  knowing  that  the  goodness  of  God 
leadeth  thee  to  repentance?''  Rom.  ii.  4. 

In  like  manner  we  judge  it  right  to  preach  re- 
pentance. We  are  not  concerned  to  produce 
"  only  a  present  uneasy  feeling  of  regret  or  sor- 
row for  what  is  done,"  but  we  would  strive  to. 
effect  "  a  change  of  mind  that  is  durable  and 
productive  of  consequences."  And  we  humbly 
trust  that  our  feeble  labors  in  some  measure  pro- 
15* 


174  UNIVERSALIST  BKLTKF. 

duce  this  desirable  result.  AVe  know  that  ac- 
ceptable obedience  must  spring  from  love;  and 
we  are  sure  that  God  must  be  seen  in  the  loveli- 
ness of  his  character,  before  he  can  be  loved 
with  all  the  soul.  And  hence  our  constant  ex- 
hibitions of  the  supreme  excellency  of  the  Divine 
goodness.  We  know  that  the  evil  of  sin  must 
be  seen  and  felt  before  it  can  be  abhorred  in  the 
mind.  And  we  cease  not  to  declare  and  to  prove 
that  vice  is  the  parent  and  cause  of  misery,  the 
destroyer  of  peace,  and  the  enemy  of  all  happi- 
ness. We  know  that  the  commandments  of 
God  "are  not  grievous,"  1st  John,  v.  3,  and 
that  "  m  keeping  of  them  there  is  a  great  re- 
warcL^^  Ps.  xix.  11.  And  we  therefore  labor 
to  convince  men  that  God  requires  of  us  a  "  rea 
sonable  service,"  intended  for  our  own  good ; 
and  that  peace  and  pure  enjoyment  can  be  found 
only  in  the  path  of  obedience.  Thus  we  con- 
stantly preach  repentance.  And  if  the  Scripture 
truths  here  presented,  were  but  believed  with 
the  heart,  by  all  who  profess  to  know  and  serve 
the  Lord,  Zion  would  appear  in  all  her  beautiful 
garments,  and  every  waste  place  in  the  kingdom 
of  Immanuel  would  become  rich  in  the  fruits  of 
holiness  and  peace. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FORGIVENESS. 

We  come  to  speak  of  forgiveness.  The 
Prince  of  life,  who  Avas  exalted  with  the  right 
hand  of  God,  was  to  give  remission  of  sins,  as 
well  as  grant  repentance  unto  life.  But  we  main- 
tain that  God  never  swerves  from  strict  justice 
in  his  dealings  with  mankind,  but  certainly  ren- 
ders unto  all  the  full  recompense  of  their  doings. 
Many  are  ready  to  conclude  that  such  doctrine 
precludes  the  very  possibility  of  ^Jiy  forgiveness, 
because,  say  they,  if  all  sinners  are  punished  to 
the  full  extent  of  their  guilt,  there  can  be  no  room 
for  the  exercise  of  pardoning  mercy.  We  con- 
fess that  this  objection  is  highly  plausible  ;  and, 
considering  the  more  common  religious  instruc- 
tions of  the  day,  we  think  it  not  strange  that 
many  should  regard  it  as  unanswerable. 

But  our  appeal  is  to  the  word  of  God.  'We 
have  no  concern  with  the  judicial  pardons  that 
are  extended  to  the  transgressors  of  human  laws. 
Such  is  not  the  subject  of  inquiry.     We  desire 


176  UMVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

to  show  what  kind  of  forgiveness  God  grants  to 
sinful  men,  and  to  ascertain  whether  he  remits 
i\\e  punishment  demanded  by  justice,  or  merely 
forgives  the  sins  of  his  creatures. 

The  Scriptures  speak  a  language  on  this  sub- 
ject that  need  not  be  misunderstood.  In  the 
same  passage  we  find  the  declaration  of  full  and 
adequate  puniskriient,  and  also  of  abundant  jo«r- 
don — thus  showing  that  the  same  individual  may 
receive  for  "  every  trangression  and  disobedience 
a  just  recompense  of  reward,"  and  at  the  same 
time  receive  the  forgiveness  of  all  his  sins.  Let 
a  few  such  passages  be  introduced,  and  they 
will  assist  us  to  a  righf.  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject before  us.  Exodus  xxxiv.  6,  7.  "  The  Lord 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-sunering,  and 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy 
for  thousands, ybrg/f.u'wo-  iniquity,  and  transgres- 
sion and  sin,  arid  that  will  by  no  means  dear 
the  guilfy.''^  Here  it  is  plainly  afllrmed  that 
God  is  forgiving  ;  and  also  that  he  will  not,  by 
any  possible  means,  or  in  any  case,  sufler  the 
guilty  to  be  cleared.  Shall  we  say  that  there  is 
here  a  manifest  contradiction?  If  forgiveness, 
as  applied  to  God  and  in  the  Scripture  sense  of 
the  word,  means  a  remission  of  condign  punish- 
ment, there  was  never  a  more  gross  and  palpa- 
ble solecism  than  we  find  in  this  passage.     But 


UNIVERrfALIST  BELIEF.  177 

we  deny  that  such  is  the  meaning  of  forgiveness. 
And  we  shall  yet  show  that  the  most  rigid  justice 
and  free  pardon  harmoniously  work  together  in 
the  economy  of  God. 

Again,  we  read,  Psalms  xcix.  8,  "  Thou  wast 
a  God  that  forgavest  them,  thou  tookest  ven- 
geance of  their  inventions."  The  Psalmist 
speaks  of  God's  treatment  of  Israel  in  the  days 
of  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  shows  that  notwith- 
standing he  punished  that  rebellious  people  for 
their  \vickedness,  he  also  foi'gave  them.  But  a 
still  stronger  passage  is  found  in  the  40th  chap- 
ter of  Isaiah.  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my 
people,  saith  your  God.  Speak  ye  comfortably 
to  Jerusalem,  and  say  unto  her  that  her  warfare 
is  accomplished,  that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned : 
for  she  hath  received  of  the  Lord's  hand  double 
for  all  her  sm-s."  All  the  sins  of  Jerusalem  are 
here  mentioned.  They  were  all  punished  to  the 
full;  and  to  give  peculiar  force  to  the  fact,  the  Pro- 
phet introduces  a  hypei^bole,  declaring  that  she 
had  received  double  for  all  her  sins !  Surely 
there  was  no  limitation  of  the  operations  of  jus- 
tice in  this  case — no  remission  of  the  punishment 
deserved  by  sin.  Still  the  people  were  pardon- 
ed— their  sins  were  -dW  forgiven. 

"  How  then,"  says  one,  "  shall  we  understand 
this  subject  of  forgiveness,   for  everything  like 


178  TNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

real  pardon  seems  to  be  excluded."  We  an. 
swer,  earthly  rulers  Tennt  punishment,  because 
their  judicial  dicisions  are  not  infallible,  and  such 
procedure  is  in  some  cases  supposed  to  be  pro- 
per and  even  necessary.  The  work  of  God  is 
perfect,  and  his  judgments  never  need  to  be  re- 
versed. And  the  fact  is  worthy  of  particular  no- 
tice, that  although  we  read  in  the  Scriptures  of 
the  forgiveness,  pardon  and  remission  of  sw5, 
transgression  and  iniquity,  we  do  not  find  a 
passage  in  the  whole  Book  that  speaks  of  the 
forgiveness  or  remission  oi" punishment.  In  two 
of  the  passages  which  we  liave  cited,  it  is  posi- 
tively declared  that  the  punishment  w2iS  infiic- 
ted,  but  sin  pardoned.  After  the  transgressors 
had  suffered  the  righteous  chastisement  of  their 
evil  deeds,  they  were  received  into  the  favor  of 
God  and  gYaciowsly  forgiven. 

The  word  aphiemi,  rendered  forgive  in  the 
New  Testament,  is  defined  by  Parkhurst,  Don- 
negan,  and  Greenfield,  and  we  presume  by  all 
other  lexicographers,  to  mean,  "to  send  away, 
dismiss,  to  emit,  send  forth."  Bemission,  whicli 
signifies  sending  away,  is  more  expressive  of 
the  meaning  intended  than  the  word /orgivenes.';. 
God  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.  But 
when  man  truly  repents  of  his  sins,  that  is,  re- 
forms his  life  as  the  Scriptures  require,  God  will 


TNIVERSALIST  BKLIEF.  179 

pardon  or  remit  all  his  iniquities,  and  treat  htm 
as  thouorh  he  had  never  sinned.  In  this  consists 
the  forgiveness  or  remission  that  is  promised  the 
penitent.  God  punished  Jerusalem  for  all  her 
sins;  but  when  the  warfare  was  accomplished, 
the  word  of  comfort  was  spoken,  and  her  iniqui- 
ty was  pardoned.  It  has  been  said  that  if  man 
is  punished  to  the  full  extent  of  his  guilt,  he  may- 
come  forth  and  demand  the  favor  of  God  and 
even  the  bliss  of  heaven  as  his  right.  But  upon 
what  ground  ?  "  Because,"  says  one,  "  he  has 
suffered  all  that  he  deserved."  Very  well,  this 
settles  the  account,  but  what  claim  does  all  this 
give  man  to  further  blessings  from  God?  Surely 
none  at  all.  He  stands  as  the  subject  of  grace, 
and  whatever  good  he  receives  must  be  the  mer- 
ciful gift  of  "  the  Father  of  lights." 

The  justice  of  God  claims  the  obedience  of  all 
the  subjects  of  his  m.oral  government,  and  em- 
ploys such  means  as  tend  to  secure  this  end.  All 
punishments  inflicted  by  the  hand  of  the  Deity 
are  intended  by  him  to  be  the  means  of  satisfying 
the  demands  of  his  own  justice.  And  after  pun- 
ishment has  done  its  work,  and  repentance  unto 
life  has  ensued,  God  blots  out  from  the  book  of 
his  remembrance  all  the  faults  of  the  sinner, 
sends  away  his  iniquities,  and  receives  him  as 
one  who  had  never  known  the  ways  of  evil.— 


180  UMVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

The  prodigal  son  bitterly  suffered  the  conse- 
quences of  his  follies  and  crimes,  and  feared  to 
ask  the  forgiveness  which  his  father  delighted 
to  bestow.  In  this  case  there  would  have  been 
no  forgiveness,  if  the  father  had  been  unwilling 
to  remit  and  forget  the  former  transgressions  of 
his  child.  But  he  forgave  all — v/elcomed  the 
returning  prodigal  to  his  home — and  rejoiced 
over  him  more  than  over  the  elder  brother  who 
had  not  gone  astray. 

.  Al]  sinners  are  prodigals  from  God.  While 
estranged  from  him  by  wicked  works,  they  must 
ever  bear  that  punishment  of  which  the  guilty 
cannot  be  cleared.  But  the  disposition  of  God 
toward  them  is  subject  to  no  change — he  still 
loves  them  with  a  parent's  affection — and  when 
by  the  manifestations  of  his  goodness,  they  are 
led  to  repentance^  sin  is  not  imputed,  but  abun- 
dant pardon  is  granted.  "  God  (says  Paul,  2d 
Cor.  V.  19,)  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world 
unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto 
them.'^  Notwithstanding  the  sinfulness  of  men, 
they  were  still  the  objects  of  divine  love.  And 
although  they  must  suffer  the  unavoidable  conse- 
quences of  their  wickedness,  God  will  not  allow 
either  sin  or  its  effects  to  hinder  the  great  work 
of  universal  reconciliation  to  himself.  Because 
man  hay  sinned,   God   will  not  therefore  fasten 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  181 

sm  and  misery  eternally  upon  him.     His  pur- 
poses are  all  favorable  to  human  happiness,  and 
aim  at  the  ultimate  blessedness  of  all   his  moral 
subjects.     Nothing  can  separate  man  from  his 
love,  nor  make  him  the  absolute  enemy  of  any 
of  his  creatures.     The  principles  of  his  nature 
and  government  will  not  allow  the  return  of  evil 
for  evil.  The  exercise  of  his  justice  (which  is  that 
of  love)  is  designed  to  secure  him  the  obedience  of 
his  creatures,   and  bring  man  into  communion 
with  his  Maker.     And  when  the  ends  of  justice 
are  secured,  man  will  no  longer  be  the  subject  of 
penal  retribution.     Whatever  he  has  done  amiss 
will  be  kindly  forgiven  ;  and  in  Christ  Jesus  all 
that  have  sinned  will  at  last  find  the  blessings  of 
grace,   and  the  joys   of  deliverance  from  every 
evil !     Then  shall  ungodliness  be  turned  away 
from  Jacob,  and  the  sins  of  Israel  taken  away^ 
Rom.   xi,  26,  27  ;  and  then  shall  it  be  known 
and  acknowledged  of  all,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in- 
deed   "  THE    LAMB  OF  GoD  WHICH  TAKETH  AWAY 
THE  SIN  OF  THE  WORLD  !" 


16 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

REWARDS  AND  PUNISHMENTS. 

All  Christians  yield  a  willing  assent  to  the 
doctrine  of  human  accountability;  notwithstand- 
ing- many  of  them  hold  notions  that  seem  to  be 
quite  irreconcilable  with  this  plain  doctrine  of 
reason  and  of  revelation.  The  Calvinist,  the 
Necessarian,  nay,  even  the  Fatalist  will  not  de- 
ny the  responsibility  of  man.  Who  ever  urged 
man  to  the  performance  of  his  duty  toward  God 
with  more  earnestness  and  zeal  than  Dr.  Priest- 
ly ?  And  yet  he  believed  that  every  thing  in  the 
world  is  controlled  and  determined  by  a  philo- 
sophical and  irresistable  necessity.  The  charge 
of  an  utter  denial  of  all  accountability  in  man 
was  indeed  warmly  and  repeatedly  preferred 
against  him  by  his  adversaries  ;  but  nothing  of 
the  kind  was  ever  asserted  by  himself.  We 
shall  attempt  no  defence  of  his  peculiar  notions 
on  this  subject ;  but  we  are  willing  to  award  him 
honesty  and  sincerity  of  heart  in  the  avowal  of 
his   belief.     And  we  think  his  case  fully  proves 


UN1VERSALI5T  BELIEF.  183 

the  Utter  impossibility  of  entirely  divesting  the 
mind  of  all  feelings  of  responsibility  to  God.  No 
theory  can  effectually  destroy  this  feeling  ;  for 
it  seems  to  form  a  part  of  our  common  nature  ; 
though  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  may  be  greatly 
weakened  and  sadly  perverted  by  the  pernicious 
influence  of  false  and  corrupt  doctrines.  And  we 
are  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  doctrine  of 
philosophical  necessity,  as  taught  by  Dr.  Priest- 
ly, is  not  true,  and  therefore  not  well  adapted  to 
the  promotion  of  virtue  and  righteousness.  Still 
it  would  be  an  act  of  gross  injustice  to  charge 
him  with  a  negation  of  man's  accountability  to 
his  Maker. 

But  though  all  christians  freely  admit  the  ab- 
stract doctrine  that  man  is  an  accountable  being, 
we  tind  that  very  dissimilar  not'ons  are  entertain- 
ed in  regard  to  this  subject.  We  believe  that 
whatever  freedom  man  may  possess,  and  how- 
ever responsible  he  may  be  for  his  conduct,  God 
is  the  sovereign  ruler  and  final  disposer  of  all 
things.  We  hold  that  man's  ultimate  destiny, 
instead  of  being  a  thing  o^unncertainty,  was  de- 
termined in  the  counsels  of  Heaven  before  the 
handy  work  of  creation  was  begun.  The  Lainb 
of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world, 
being  slain  from  the  foundatwn  of  the  ivorld, 
the  work  of  human  redemption  and  its  final  and 


184  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

glorious  consummation,  were  seen  and  known  to 
t{ie  mind  of  God,  ere  the  pillars  of  the  earth 
were  reared,  and  the  breath  of  life  breathed  into 
man  !  And  while  we  fully  believe  that  man  is 
an  accountable  creature,  and  that  God  "  will  ren- 
der unto  every  man  according  to  his  deeds,"  we 
hold  that  the  consequences  of  our  actions  can  in 
no  case  extend  so  far  as  to  defeat  the  original 
designs  of  our  Maker,  or  alter  the  nature  of  that 
ultimate  destiny  for  which  he  always  intended 
us. 

Others,  however,  make  human  responsibility 
infinite  in  magnitude,  and  extend  it  throughout 
the  ceaseless  duration  of  eternity.  And  they  sup- 
pose that  the  actions  here  done,  and  the  charac- 
ter here  formed,  will  have  the  most  important 
bearing  upon  our  state  and  condition  so  long  as 
existence  in  any  form  is  continued,  and  will  in 
fact  determine  our  ultimate  happiness  or  misery. 
One  great  point  of  difference  between  us  relates, 
therefore,  not  to  the  existence  of  accountability 
in  man,  (for  this  doctrine  is  admitted  by  all,)  but 
to  the  extent  of  our  responsibility. 

We  have  been,  and  still  are,  charged  with  an 
utter  denial  of  all  responsibility  in  man.  This 
charge,  however,  is  unfounded — we  will  not  pro- 
nounce it  slanderous,  for  we  are  well  persuaded 
that  in  most  cases  at  least  it  originates  in  an  en- 


IINIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 


185 


lire  misunderstanding  of  our  real  views  on  lliis 
subject.   Our  accusers  would  be  enabled  to  speak 
more  understandingly  in  reference  to  this  matter, 
if  they  would  only  acquaint  themselves  with  the 
fact,  that  we  believe  as  firmly  as  they  do,  in  the 
fact  that  man  is  accountable  to   his  Maker  ;  and 
that  the   point  of  difference  between  us  relates 
merely   to   the   magnitude  and  extent  of  this  ac- 
countability.   The  idea  appears  to  us  tremendous 
and  appalling,  that  man's  endless  happiness  or 
misery  sliould  in  any  way  depend  upon  his  own 
fitful   doings,    or  upon   the   character  which  he 
himself  voluntarily  forms  in  this  transitory  state 
of  existence.     We  believe  that  man  is  limited  in 
all  his   powers  and   capacities — that  the  conse- 
quences of  all  his  actions  zvejinite  in  their  nature 
and   duration — and   that  his   final   and  immortal 
destiny  can  be  determined  by  no  other  than  Him 
*'  who  only  hath  immortality.''^     However  last- 
ing, whether  happy  or  miserable,  the  eflects  of 
our  conduct  may  be,  we  believe  that  our  ultimate 
and  permanent  existence  in  the  resurrection  state, 
will   have  no   connexion   with   either  reward  or 
punishment,  but  will  be  the  free  gift  to  all  our 
race  of  the  unpurchased  grace  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord ! 

In    view   of  the  foregoing  considerations,  it 
seems  proper  that  we  should  inquire  concerning 
16* 


186  UNIVERSALIST    BELIFJF. 

what  God  requires  of  man.  Tlie  requisitions  of 
the  divine  law  as  declared  in  the  Scriptures,  are 
all  comprised  in  two  great  commandments,  whicli 
obligate  us  to  love  God  with  all  the  heart,  and 
our  neighbor  as  ourselves.  But  in  considering 
this  subject  we  should  not  rest  satisfied  with  a 
bare  repetition  of  the  word  love.  The  duties 
required  of  us  are  indeed  expressed  by  this  word; 
but  the  true  test  and  fruits  of  our  love  must  be 
exhibited  in  acts  of  obedience  to  its  requisitions. 
To  love  God  with  all  the  soul,  implies  that  M^e 
are  faithful  to  the  full  extent  of  our  knowledge 
and  ability,  in  the  performance  of  such  services 
as  he  has  required  at  our  hands.  It  implies  that 
we  are  sincere  and  honest  in  our  intentions,  obe- 
dient to  the  best  motives  that  are  presented  to 
the  mind,  and  disposed  in  all  things  to  employ 
our  means  and  exert  our  powers  according  to  our 
best  convictions  of  right  and  duty.  The  man 
who  thus  acts,  whatever  may  be  the  measure  of 
his  capacity,  and  his  opportunities  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge,  is  a  true  lover  of  God,  and 
a  faithful  doer  of  the  law  of  righteousness.  "  For 
(says  tlie  apostle  Paul)  if  there  be  first  a  willing 
mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to  that  a  man  hath, 
and  not  according  to  that  he  haih  not."  2d  Cor. 
viii.  12. 

To  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  implies 


UNIVER3ALIST  BLIEF.  187 

that  we  are  disposed  to  respect  his  rights  and  to 
promote  his  happiness  ;  or  in  other  words,  thai 
we  do  unto  him  as  we  desire  that  he  should  do 
unto  us.  We  are  bound  to  make  the  best  use  of 
all  our  means  of  instruction,  and  to  seek  an  ac- 
quaintance with  all  the  obligations  which  we 
owe  to  our  kindred  race.  And  in  every  stage  of 
knowledge,  and  with  every  grade  of  ability,  we 
are  obedient  to  the  second  command,  and  stand 
justified  in  the  view  of  God,  when  we  render 
our  neighbor  the  best  services  in  our  power. 
The  heathen,  as  well  as  the  Christian,  may- 
work  righteousness.  And  if  he  is  but  faithful  to 
the  light  within,  and  obedient  to  the  best  instruc- 
tions that  can  be  obtained,  that  Being  who  is  *'  no 
respecter  of  persons,"  will  approve  his  conduct 
and  bless  him  in  his  deeds  ! 

"  To  do  justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk 
humbly  before  God,"  are  declared  to  comprise 
all  the  duties  that  our  Maker  requires  of  man 
These  duties  are  urged  in  a  variety  of  ways  in 
the  Scriptures,  and  presented  in  every  form  of 
expression  ;  but  they  are  still  the  same.  Justice 
to  man,  and  mercy  to  the  erring  and  suffering, 
and  humble  obedience  toward  God  according  to 
our  knowledge  of  what  he  requires,  make  up  the 
whole  sum  of  every  man's  duty.  We  are  all 
and  constantly  obligated  to  render  such  obedience 


18S 


UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF. 


to  the  law  of  God,  whether  that  law  be  learned 
by  the  testimony  of  natural  conscience,  or  made 
known  by  the  spirit  of  revelation.  The  Bible  is 
our  code  of  morals,  and  the  highest  guide  of  our 
lives.  And  though  every  part  of  its  instiuctions 
may  not  be  easily  comprehended,  no  man  of 
ordinary  capacity  need  fail  to  understand  the 
simple  duties  which  it  requires.  And  our  obedi- 
ence is  fully  rendered,  when  we  govern  our  feel- 
ings and  thoughts  and  actions,  according  to  the 
standard  of  rectitude,  mercy  and  humility  fur- 
nished in  the  word  of  God. 

Let  us  furthermore  inquire,  what  recompense 
is  conferred  upon  man  for  his  obedience  to  the 
things  which  God  has  commanded  ?  Does  the 
reward  bear  any  intimate  and  immediate  connex- 
ion to  duty?  Or  will  it  be  rendered  after  the 
last  duty  of  life  shall  have  been  performed  ?  An- 
swers to  these  queries  may  be  drawn  from  two 
sources — the  Scriptures  and  our  own  experience. 
The  apostle  James  says,  1,  25,  *' But  whoso 
looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  con- 
tinueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer, 
but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be  blessed 
in  his  deedy  The  Psalmist  expressed  the  same 
sentiment,  when  he  says,  speaking  of  the  divine 
commandments,  *'  In  keeping  of  them  there  is 
great  reward,"  Vs.  xix.  11.  And  again,  he  says, 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  189 

*'  Great  peace  have  they  which  love  thy  law  : 
and  nothing  shall  offend  them."  Ps.  cxix.  65. 
These  are  but  a  small  specimen  of  the  passages 
that  might  be  cited  to  prove  that  the  recompense 
of  virtue  and  righteousness,  is  ever  present  with, 
and  enjoyed  by  the  man  who  walks  in  the  ways 
of  divine  wisdom,  which  are  pleasantness  and 
peace. 

The  Scriptures  give  us  no  intimation  that  the 
reward  of  our  good  deeds  here  will  be  conferred 
upon  us  in  another  world.  Nor  do  they  instruct 
us  to  believe  thai  our  enjoyment  of  the  reward 
will  depend  upon  our  feelings  and  character  just 
when  we  breathe  the  last  mortal  breath,  and  close 
our  eyes  in  death  !  But  they  declare  that  in  the 
way  of  duty  there  are  peace  and  joy,  and  great 
recompense  of  reward.  It  is  not  for  being  obe- 
dient to  the  divine  law  of  love  that  we  are  to  be 
blessed  of  God,  as  though  the  recompense  were  to 
be  rendered  after  all  duties  have  been  discharged. 
But  the  reward  of  righteousness,  is  promised 
man  while  he  sustains  a  righteous  character ;  and 
he  is  blessed  in  his  djeeds. 

And  does  not  our  own  experience  corroborate 
this  plain  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  ?  Who  ever 
withstood  the  power  of  temptation,  and  dealt 
justly  and  honorably  with  his  neighbor,  without 
feeling  in   his  soul  a  sweet  consciousness  of  vir- 


190  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

tue  and  innocence,  which  is  a  prize  more  lo  be 
desired  than  all  the  riches  and  honors  of  the 
world  ?  Who  ever  had  compassion  upon  the 
unfortunate,  and  as  a  ministering  angel  of  mercy, 
wiped  the  tear  from  sorrow's  eye,  and  poured 
gladness  and  joy  into  the  suffering  heart,  without 
experiencing  in  the  very  act,  a  recompense, 
great  beyond  all  expression  ?  And  he  that  daily 
walks  in  humility  before  God,  is  enabled  when 
he  retires  to  his  nightly  repose,  to  reflect  with 
feelings  of  unutterable  satisfaction  and  delight 
upon  his  faithfulness  in  duty  ;  and  his  happiness 
is  not  only  immensely  greater,  but  far  more  dig- 
nified and  refined,  than  any  thing  ever  known  by 
the  lover  of  worldly  pleasures.  Virtue's  prize 
is  "  the  soul's  calm  sunshine  and  the  heartfelt 
joy."  All  that  can  minister  to  the  higher  powers 
of  our  nature — all  that  can  secure  happiness  that 
is  worthy  the  dignity  of  intellectual  and  moral 
beings,  must  flow  from  the  cultivation  of  those 
exalted  virtues  enjoined  upon  us  in  the  word  of 
God.  Aiid  we  may  safely  afiirm  that  no  man 
ever  rendered  true  obedience  to  the  great  com- 
mands of  our  Maker,  witliout  having  the  witness 
in  himself,  assuring  him  tliat  the  doer  of  the  law 
is  blessed  in  his  deeds. 

It  should  also  be  understood  that  the  tendency 
of  righteousness  is  favorable  to  all  the  interests 


rXIVERSALIST     BELIEF.  191 

of  human  life.  Nations  and  communities,  as 
well  as  individuals,  are  rendered  truly  prosper- 
ous and  happy  only  in  proportion  to  their  ob- 
servance of  the  duties  enjoined  by  the  law  of 
God.  *' Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation;"  and 
the  community  over  which  virtue  presides  is  the 
dwelling-place  of  happiness  and  peace.  The 
practice  of  justice,  mercy  and  humility  is  in 
every  respect  advantageous  to  man.  He  thus 
secures  the  good  will  of  all  his  fellows  ;  and 
even  his  secular  affairs  are  ordinarily  rendered 
prosperous.  And  in  more  ways  than  we  can 
mention,  and  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  many 
have  ever  conceived,  does  God  judge  in  the 
earth,  and  give  a  reward  to  the  righteous. 

But  another  inquiry  here  claims  our  attention. 
The  Scriptures  declare  that  all  men  have  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  And  what 
are  we  to  understand  by  sin  ?  The  apostle  John 
has  furnished  the  true  answer  in  these  words  : — 
"For  sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law."  1st 
John  iii.  4.  And  it  may  not  be  improper  to  re- 
mark that  we  know  of  no  other  sin  than  that 
which  implies  action^  and  results  from  a  violation 
of  law.  We  hear  much  said  of  original  sin, 
and  inborn  sin.  But  it  seems  to  us  that  if  man 
is  born  with  a  bad  nature,  it  is  his  misfortune, 
and  not  his  fault.     Nor  can  we  exactly  under- 


192  UNIVERSALIST    BELIEF. 

stand  how  a  man  can  be  a  sinner  before  he  has 
sinned.  If  "sin  is  the  transgression  of  the 
law,"  common  understanding  would  appear  to 
decide  thai  no  man  can  be  a  sinner  until  he  has 
transgressed.  Others,  however,  profess  to  know 
all  about  this  subject;  and  we  leave  them  to  ex- 
plain its  difficulties. 

Al!  men  are  in  some  way  the  subjects  of  law, 
as  we  have  before  shown.  One  has  conscience 
for  his  guide,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Gentiles  of 
whom  Paul  speaks,  while  another  has  received 
in  addition  to  his  natural  sense  of  right  and 
wrong,  the  instructions  of  divine  revelation. 
When  we  go  counter  to  what  we  know  to  be 
right,  from  whatever  source  our  knowledge  may 
be  derived,  we  transgress  the  law,  and  are  there- 
fore sinful.  Adam  became  sinful  when  he  trans- 
gressed the  command  of  his  Maker.  Cain  fell 
into  a  similar  condemnation,  when,  in  violation  of 
all  fraternal  obligation,  he  rose  up  and  slew  his 
righteous  brother.  The  people  of  Israel  sinned 
in  disregarding  the  commands  of  God  given  them 
by  Moses,  and  in  thus  corrupting  their  way  on 
the  earth.  And  we  now  commit  sin  in  forsaking 
the  law  which  God  has  instituted  for  our  govern- 
ment, and  in  doing  such  things  as  he  has  forbid- 
den. All  have  in  some  way  smned,  and  are 
guilty  before  God. 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  193 

What,  then,  is  the  punishment  which  God  has 
denounced  against  the  transgressor?  And  where 
shall  that  punishment  be  endured  ?  We  may 
here  query  as  we  did  in  regard  to  the  recom- 
pense of  virtue.  Has  punishment  any  necessary 
connexion  with  sin  itself?  Or  will  it  be  inflict- 
ed after  all  the  sins  of  life  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ?  We  are  thrown  back  to  the  same 
sources  whence  we  have  derived  answers  to 
other  questions.  The  Scriptures  declare  that 
God  executes  judgment  in  the  earth — that  here 
the  righteous  are  recompensed,  and  the  wicked 
punished — that  the  wicked  are  destitute  of  peace 
and  rest,  and  subject  to  continual  troubles — and 
that  the  way  of  transgressors  is  hard.  See  Ps. 
Iviii.  11;  Prov.  xi.  31;  Isa.  Ivii.  20,  21;  Prov. 
xiii.  15. 

From  these  representations  it  plainly  appears 
that  man  is  punisiied  in  his  sins — -that  suffering 
and  crime  are  indissolubly  united  together — and 
that  man  must  unavoidably  endure  the  recom- 
pense of  his  transgressions,  while,  and  so  long 
as  he  continues  in  rebellion  against  the  com- 
mands of  his  Maker.  As  soon  as  Adam  had 
transgressed,  a  change  came  over  his  mind;  fear- 
ful dread  seized  upon  his  soul,  and  he  instaiuly 
sought  to  conceal  himself  from  the  view  of  God. 
Tiie  horrors  of  guilt  and  the  keen  stings  of  a 
17 


194  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

condemning  conscience,  were  immediately  and 
bitterly  felt ;  and  the  painful  truth  was  real- 
ized that  death  should  come  in  the  very  day  of 
transgression.  Cain,  in  view  of  his  enormous 
offence,  and  the  dreadful  retribution  to  which  he 
was  doomed  "  in  the  earth,  "  and  with  no  reve- 
lations of  the  future  life,  was  led  to  exclaim  in 
the  bitterness  of  his  grief,  "  My  punishment  is 
greater  than  I  can  bear!"  The  law  of  Moses 
denounced  punishments  for  sin  only  in  this 
world.  And  in  the  new  and  better  covenant^ 
which  has  brought  "  life  and  immortality  to 
light,"  it  is  declared  that  in  the  resurrection  state, 
all  who  shall  have  died  in  Adam  shall  be  made 
alive  in  Christ. 

We  therefore  conclude  that  the  punishment  for 
sin  is  in  the  same  state  of  being  where  men 
transgress  the  law  of  God.  And  we  cannot  doubt 
that  if  men  commit  sin  in  the  future  world,  they 
will  there  be  the  subjects  of  punishment.  Solo- 
mon says,  *•  Though  hand  join  in  hand,  the 
wicked  shall  not  be  unpunished."  Prov.  xi.  21. 
But  he  also  says,  "  Behold,  the  righteous  shall 
be  recompensed  in  the  earth  ;  much  more  the 
wicked  and  the  sinner."  God  has  so  arranged 
the  affairs  of  the  world,  that  vice  must  and  will 
bring  with  itself  an  equitable  punishment.  Many 
of  our  sins  may  be  unseen  by  human  eye,  and  un-^ 


UNIVERSALTST  BELIEF.  195 

punished  by  human  law  ;  but  they  are  all  known 
to  Him  who  is  acquainted  with  the  secret  inten- 
tions of  our  hearts,  and  he  has  declared  that  he 
will  bring  every  work  into  judgment,  whether 
good  or  bad.  If  one  evil  action  is  suffered  to 
pass  unpunished,  the  principle  of  justice  is  at 
once  violated  in  the  divine  government;  and  it  is 
folly  to  talk  any  longer  about  the  inflexible  jus- 
tice of  Jehovah  !  And  if  injustice  takes  place 
in  one  instance,  it  may  also  occur  in  another  ; 
and  justice  in  God  may  be  a  mere  inconstant 
passion ! 

But  it  becomes  us  to  guard  against  deception, 
and  not  suffer  ourselves  to  be  enticed  into  the 
foolish  and  hurtful  notion  that  sin  can  in  any 
case  be  committed  with  impunity.  The  Scrip- 
tures are  very  explicit  on  this  subject.  God 
^^ivill  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty ^  Exodus 
xxxvii.  4.  "  But  he  that  doeth  wrong  shall 
receive  for  the  wrong  that  he  hath  done :  and 
there  is  no  respect  of  persons.''^  Col.  iii.  25. 
And  the  experience  of  life  teaches  the  same  im- 
portant and  salutary  lesson.  The  sure  tendency 
of  vice  is  to  misery  and  destruction.  We  always 
injure  our  own  happiness  by  wilfully  doing  that 
which  we  know  to  be  wrong.  And  while  we 
see  proofs  of  the  fact  that  '*  the  way  of  trans- 
gressors is  hard,"  in  viewing  society  at  large,  and 


196  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

in  studying  the  whole  history  of  our  race,  we 
may  come  home  individually  to  ourselves,  and 
we  shall  find  overwhelming  evidence  of  the  same 
truth  running  through  our  whole  experience. 

But  there  is  still  another  inquiry  to  which  we 
must  devote  some  attention  before  we  close.  We 
have  seen  that  the  present  life  is  a  state  of  disci- 
pline ;  and  that  here  both  rewards  and  punish- 
ments are  administered  by  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth.  Men  may  call  this  life  a  state  of  pro- 
bation ^  but  we  shall  ask  in  vain  for  the 
authority  upon  which  this  notion  is  asserted. 
Judgment  is  here  executed  and  the  recom- 
pense of  human  conduct  administered.  And 
if  all  this  means  that  this  life  is  a  state  of 
probation,  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  word, 
and  need  say  no  more  on  the  subject. 

The  subject  of  our  present  inquiry  is  in  re- 
gard to  the  ultimate  design  of  God  in  his  disci- 
plinary dealings  with  mankind.  What  end  does 
he  mean  to  accomplish  ?  Will  a  state  ofreivard 
be  the  final  destiny  of  any  man  ?  Will  a  state 
o(  punishment  be  the  ultimate  doom  of  any  hu« 
man  soul  ?  Or  will  discipline  at  some  time  cease, 
and  the  human  familv  be  blessed  with  redemp- 
tion, and  brought  into  fellowship  with  the  angels 
in  heaven  ? 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  197 

Some  persons  suppose  that  Gocf  has  in  view 
two  directly  opposite  results  in  his  treatment  of 
mankind.  They  hold  that  he  administers  re- 
wards for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  final  and 
endless  beatitude  of  a  portion  of  his  creatures  ; 
and  that  their  present  happiness,  though  not  dis- 
regarded, is  considered  an  object  of  small  mo- 
ment, compared  to  the  last  and  permanent  state 
of  felicity  into  which  their  rewarder  designs  to 
bring  them.  But  they  suppose  that  in  punishing 
the  wicked,  God  intends  to  produce  the  very 
opposite  result,  and  will  immortalize  sin  and 
misery,  and  give  them  an  endless  existence. 

According  to  this  doctrine,  the  government  of 
God  aims  to  accomplish  two  different  ends — the 
one  good,  and  the  other  evil.  And  he  is  repre- 
sented as  pursuing  such  a  plan  as  will  infallibly 
produce  these  results.  Now  equitable  and  right- 
eous governments  among  men  aim  to  accomplish 
but  one  end,  which  is  good.  They  are  never 
administered  for  the  purpose  of  producing  evil 
as  the  final  result.  But  every  thing  human 
bears  the  stamp  of  imperfection  ;  and  the  wisdom 
of  man  is  not  adequate  to  the  work  of  establish- 
ing a  government  that  shall  in  all  respects  and 
in  every  instance  secure  the  good  designed. 
We  have,  however,  been  accustomed  to  believe 
that  the  work  of  God  is  perfect,  and  that  he  can 
17* 


198  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

never  fail  to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  his  will. 
And  if  we  suppose  that  his  government  will  pro- 
duce gqod  and  evil  results  as  its  ultimate  objects, 
the  conclusion  cannot  well  be  avoided,  that  it  is 
administered  upon  the  most  opposite  principles, 
and  is  partly  good  and  partly  evil.  "We  read 
that  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  The  char- 
acter of  a  government  is  determined  by  the  ob- 
jects which  it  aims  to  accomplish.  And  if  it  de- 
signs to  produce  happy  and  miserable  results, 
the  inference  is  plain  and  inevitable  that  it  em- 
braces principles  of  the  most  discordant  nature! 
We  believe  that  the  principles  of  God's  go- 
vernment are  all  of  the  same  nature ;  and 
that  whatever  may  be  their  separate  offices, 
they  all  aim  to  accomplish  the  same  benevolent 
end.  We  hold  that  nothing  is  absolutely  eternal 
save  God  himself,  and  that  to  which  he  imparts 
a  portion  of  his  own  nature.  And  though  he 
may  employ  different  means  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  certain  ends,  we  believe  that  in  every 
act  his  ultimate  designs  are  the  same.  Evils 
may  exist  as  means;  but  the  final  end  of  the  di- 
vine government  must  be  compatible  with  the 
nature  of  God  himself.  And  when,  according  to 
the  Scriptures,  God  ^^  shall  be  allin  allf^'  s'm 
and  suffering,  and  every  thing  opposed  to  his 
nature  must  cease  to  exist. 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  199 

In  this  view  of  the  subject  we  see  no  clashing 
of  objects  in  the  administration  of  God's  govern- 
ment. He  rewards  the  virtuous  because  their 
conduct  is  right,  and  with  a  view  to  their  happi- 
ness. And  he  punishes  the  wicked  because  their 
sins  deserve  it — that  he  may  thus  secure  the 
ends  of  justice — and  that  the  sufferer  himself, 
though  a  loser  by  his  misconduct,  may  be 
brought  into  obedience  and  righteousness. 
Means  are  employed  as  the  case  requires,  but 
the  great  end  in  both  is  the  same.  The  good 
parent  rewards  his  dutiful,  and  punishes  his  dis- 
obedient child.  And  yet  he  loves  them  both, 
and  his  only  object  is  to  do  them  good.  God  is 
a  Father.  And  while  he  renders  unto  every  man 
according  to  his  deeds,  he  means  to  produce  in 
all  "  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness.''  See 
Heb.  xii.  5-11. 

Thus  believing,  we  are  enabled  by  faith  to 
look  beyond  all  rewards  and  punishments,  and 
to  contemplate  with  joy  that  glorious  period  fore- 
told by  the  Prophet,  when  "  every  knee  shall 
bow,  and  every  tongue  shall  swear,  surely  shall 

say,  IN  THE  LORD  HAVE  I  RIGHTEOUSNESS  AND 
STRENGTH." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  RESURRECTION. 

In  considering  the  subject  before  us,  it  should 
be  understood  that  the  word  resurrection  does 
not  mean  the  same  thing  in  every  place  where  it 
occurs  in  the  Scriptures.  By  attaching  to  this 
word  one  uniform  signification,  the  mind  will  be 
strangely  misled,  and  the  doctrine  of  life  and  im- 
mortality sadly  misapprehended.  And  indeed 
this  wrong  use  of  the  word  is  one  of  the  chief 
causes  of  the  gross  errors  that  are  entertained  in^ 
regard  to  the  condition  of  our  race  in  the  spirit- 
ual and  immortal  life.  Our  Savior  spoke  of  '*  the 
resurrection  of  damnation  ;"  and  he  also  declared 
that  the  children  or  subjects  of  the  resurrection 
shall  be  ^'  equal  unto  the  angels."  And  if  we 
suppose  that  in  both  places  he  had  reference  to 
the  same  thing,  we  must  conclude  either  that  he 
has  contradicted  himself,  or  else  that  his  lan- 
guage does  not  convey  to  us  the  real  meaning 
intended.  An  equality  with  the  angels  in  hea- 
ven cannot  surely  be  a  state  of  condemnation  to 
any  soul  of  man.     And  if  *'  they  which  shall  be 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  201 

accounted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  [the  future 
life,]  and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,^^  shall  be 
"  equal  to  the  angels,^^  how  can  it  be  said  of  any 
one  of  the  number  that  he  shall  come  forth  to  "the 
resurrection  of  damnation  ?"  It  is  readily  per- 
ceived that  these  things  present  an  insuperable 
difficulty,  on  the  supposition  that  the  word  re- 
surrection must  be  considered  as  bearing  but  one 
meaning.  But  give  to  the  word  its  proper  signi- 
fication in  each  place,  and  the  whole  difficulty  will 
at  once  disappear. 

Speaking  of  the  term  rendered  resurrection  in 
the  New  Testament,  Dr.  Campbell  says ;  *'The 
word  anastasist  or  rather  the  phrase  anastasis  ton 
nekron,  is  indeed  the  common  term  by  which 
the  resurrection,  properly  so  called,  is  denomi- 
nated in  the  New  Testament.  Yet  this  is  neither 
the  only,  nor  the  primitive  import  of  the  word 
anastasis:  it  denotes  simply,  being  raised  from 
inactivity  to  action,  or  from  obscurity  to  emi- 
nence, or  a  return  to  such  a  state  after  an  inter- 
ruption. The  verb  anistemi  has  the  like  latitude 
of  signification  ;  and  both  words  are  used  in  this 
extent  by  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  as 
well  as  by  the  Seventy.  Agreeably,  therefore,  to 
the  original  import,  rising  from  a  seat  is  properly- 
termed  anastasis;  so  is  awaking  out  of  sleep,  or 


202  ITNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

promotion  from  an  inferior  condition.  The 
word  occurs  in  this  last  sense,  Luke  2  :  34.  In 
this  view,  when  applied  to  the  dead,  the  word 
denotes,  properly,  no  more  than  a  renewal  of 
life  to  them,  in  whatever  manner  this  happen." 
Note  on  Matt.  xxii.  23.  This  author,  distinguished 
alike  for  his  profound  learning  and  Christian 
candor,  maintains  that  the  word  resurrection  pri- 
marily means  simply  rising.  The  passage  in 
Luke  to  wliich  he  refers  was  spoken  by  Simeon 
with  reference  to  the  infant  Jesus.  "  Behold, 
(said  the  aged  man,)  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall 
and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel ;  and  for  a 
sign  which  shall  be  spoken  against."  None  can 
suppose  that  a  rising  from  literal  death  into  an 
immortal  life  is  taught  in  this  passage.  It  mere- 
ly referred  to  the  promotion  of  the  remnant  of 
Israel  who  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  the  fall  of  the  remainder,  who  stumbled 
at  the  stone  laid  in  Zion. 

In  accordance  with  this  "  primitive  import"  of 
the  word  resurrection,  Paul  says  to  the  Ephe« 
sians,  chap.  ii.  verse  1,  '■'.Mnd  you  hath  he  quick- 
ened, who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 
Wakefield  renders  the  place  ;  "And  you  hath  he 
brought  to  life  with  Christ."  Here  the  persons 
addressed  are  represented  as  having  received  a 
new  existence,  being  quickened  from  death  into 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  203 

a  state  of  life.  Having  died  to  their  old  sins, 
ihey  were  brought  to  life  with  Christ.  John 
says,  1st.  Epis.  iii.  14,  "  We  know  that  we  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life,  [i.  e.  experienced 
a  resurrection,']  because  we  love  the  brethren." 
And  a  great  number  of  passages  of  similar  mean- 
ing will  readily  occur  to  every  reader  of  the 
New  Testament. 

Parkhurst  says  of  the  word  rendered  resurrec- 
tion, "  In  the  Ixx.  [or  Greek  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament]  it  is  twice  used,  Lam.  iii.  62. 
Zeph.  iii.  8  ;  in  both  which  texts  it  answers  to 
the  Heb. — which  means  to  stand  up,  rise,  and 
in  the  former  is  opposed  to  sitting.'"  On  refer- 
ring to  the  passages  here  named,  we  find  that  the 
former  is  a  part  of  the  Prophet's  complaint,  and 
reads ;  *'  Thou  hast  heard  their  reproach,  O 
Lord,  and  all  their  imaginations  against  me;  the 
lips  of  those  that  rose  up  against  me,  and  their 
devise  against  me  all  the  day."  The  enemies  of 
Jeremiah's  people  had  risen  up  against  them ; 
and  this  rising  was  called  a  resurrection.  The 
latter  passage  is  applied  to  God  himself. 
"  Therefore  wait  ye  upon  me,  saith  the  Lord, 
until  the  day  that  1  rise  up  to  the  prey  :  for  my 
determination  is  to  gather  the  nations,"&;c.  This 
resurrection  *'  is  opposed  to  sitting.",  ^o^  ^^ 
represented  in  human  speech  and  in  a  familiar 


204  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

way,  as  rising  up  to  execute  judgment  upon  the 
kingdoms  and  nations  of  the  earth.  All  this, 
which  is  very  clearly  understood,  would,  how- 
ever, appear  very  absurd,  if  we  were  to  suppose 
that  the  word  resurrection  wherever  it  occurs  in 
the  Scriptures,  means  a  rising  from  literal  death 
into  a  new  state  of  existence  ! 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  all  can  perceive  the 
importance  of  carefully  examining  the  connexion 
and  subject  of  discourse  in  which  the  word  re- 
surrection is  fdund.  The  meaning  intended  rests 
entirely  upon  the  nature  of  the  subject  to  which 
it  is  applied.  Like  the  word  raise  or  raisings 
in  one  place  it  may  signify  a  mere  coming  forth 
from  obscurity  ;  and  in  another,  man's  entrance 
into  the  immortal  state  of  being.  It  is  written, 
Dan.  xii.  2,  "  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  ever- 
lasting life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt."  On  investigating  the  chapter  which 
contains  this  text,  we  find  that  the  Prophet 
speaks  of  a  particular  time ;  and  it  is  also 
a  time  that  has  been  determined  by  our  Lord, 
and  is  now  past.  This  rising  was  to  take  place 
when  there  should  *'  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such 
as  never  was  since  there  was  a  nation,  even  to 
that  same  time" — "  and  from  the  time  (it  was 
prophesied)  that  the  daily  sacrifice  shall  be  taken 
away,  and  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  205 

set  up,  there  shall  be  a  thousand  two  hundred 
and  ninety  days." 

Now  let  the  reader  direct. h^  attention  to  the 
24th  chap,  of  Matt.,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  our 
Lord  referred  to  this  very  prophecy  of  Daniel, 
and  declared  its  speedy  fulfilment.  Speaking  of 
events  that  were  shortly  to  come  to  pass,  he 
said  ;  "  When  ye  therefore  shall  see  the  abomi- 
nation of  desolation,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  pro- 
phet, stand  in  the  holy  place,  (whoso  readeth 
let  him  understand :)  Then  let  them  which  be  in 
Judea  flee  into  the  mountains  :  Let  him  which  is 
on  the  house-top  not  come  down  to  take  any 
thing  out  of  his  house  :  Neither  let  him  which 
is  in  the  field  return  back  to  take  his  clothes. 
And  wo  unto  them  that  are  with  child,  and  to 
them  that  give  suck  in  those  days  !  But  pray 
that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  neither  on 
the  sabbath  day  :  For  there  shall  be  great  tribu- 
lation, [mark  the  language  of  Daniel,]  such  as 
was  not  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this 
time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  6e."  And  after  show- 
ing the  near  approach  of  these  things  by  the  pa- 
rable of  the  fig  tree,  and  declaring  that  the  time 
was  near,  "  even  at  the  doors,"  Jesus  said, 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  this  generation  shall 
not  pass  till  all  these  things  be  fulfilled.''''  The 
time  of  the  rising  up  or  resurrection  spok'  !i  of 
18 


206  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

by  Daniel  the  prophet,  took  place,  therefore, 
when,  according  to  his  own  prediction,  it  was 
*'  accomplished  to  scatter  the  power  of  the  holy 
people,"  when  the  daily  sacrifice  was  taken 
away,  and  when  the  abomination  that  made  des- 
olate was  set  up  and  stood  in  the  holy  place. 

The  Son  of  Man  having  received  authority  to 
execute  judgment,  there  was  then  a  general 
coming  forth  to  judgment.  Men  were  represented 
as  being  dead  and  even  in  their  graves — as  in 
the  days  of  Ezekiei  it  was  declared  that  the  house 
of  Israel  were  in  their  graves,  when  they  were  in 
bondage  and  degradation  ;  and  when  it  was  pro- 
mised that  they  should  be  brought  up  out  of 
their  graves,  and  reinstated  in  their  own  land. 
SeeEze.  xxxvii.  12-14.  The  word  resurrection 
is  used  in  the  same  sense  in  the  5th  chapter  of 
John,  where,  asserting  his  "  authority  to  execute 
judgment,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man,"  Jesus 
speaks  of  a  "  resurrection  of  damnation,"  or  a 
rising  up  to  judgment.  He  says,  "  Verily,  veri- 
ly, I  say  unto  you,  the  hour  is  coming,  and  now 
is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son 
of  God :  and  they  that  hear  shall  live.  For  as 
the  Father  hath  life  in  himself;  so  hath  he  given 
to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself;  and  hath 
given  him  authority  to  execute  judgment  also, 
because  ho  is  the  Son  of  man.     Marvel  not  at 


UNIVERSALIST   BELIEF.  207 

this  :  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that 
are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth  ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the 
resurrection  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil 
unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation.  I  can  of 
mine  own  self  do  nothing  :  as  I  hear  I  judge,  &lc. 
The  subject  of  discourse  in  this  instance  is  the 
authority  of  the  Son  of  man  to  execute  judgment 
— and  not  the  future  state  of  being.  The  time 
of  the  judgment  was  declared  to  be  at  hand — 
"  the  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is."  Man's 
immortal  state  of  existence  is  not  so  much  as 
hinted  at  in  the  whole  connexion.  And  without 
attempting  to  pursue  the  subject  any  farther,  we 
feel  justified  to  conclude  that  both  of  the  passages 
last  named  refer  to  the  same  event  and  time, 
which  were  determmed  by  our  Savior,  and  which 
occurred,  according  to  his  own  word,  before  the 
close  of  the  very  generation  in  which  he  himself 
lived  on  earth  ! 

Having  thus  cleared  the  way,  and  perhaps  re- 
moved the  difficulties  from  some  minds,  we 
are  prepared  to  proceed  at  once  to  a  conside- 
ration of  the  resurrection  of  man  unto  the  future 
and  immortal  life,  as  taught  in  the  gospel  of  Je- 
sus Christ.  Our  Savior  himself  did  not  frequent- 
ly discourse  on  this  subject,  nor  at  great  length. 
The  reason  is  obvious.     His  disciples  at  first 


208  HMVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

knew  but  little  of  the  nature  of  his  kingdom,  and 
were  but  slowly  inducted  into  a  knowledge  of 
his  doctrine.  He  declared  when  on  earth  that 
he  had  many  things  to  say  unto  them,  which 
they  were  not  then  prepared  to  receive.  And 
he  assured  them  that  after  his  departure  he  would 
send  the  Comforter,  even  the  spirit  of  truth, 
which  should  lead  them  unto  all  truth,  and  bring 
all  things  to  their  remembrance,  whatsoever  he 
had  said  unto  them.  When  he  spake  of  his  own 
death  and  resurrection,  they  understood  not  what 
he  said.  And  after  he  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
*'  he  appeared  to  the  eleven  as  they  sat  at  meat, 
and  upbraided  them  with  their  unbelief  ^nd.  hard- 
ness of  heart,  because  they  believed  not  them 
which  had  seen  him  after  he  was  risen."  Mark 
xvi.  14.  Seeing  the  state  of  the  disciples'  minds, 
and  knowing  that  they  would  in  due  time  receive 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  thus  be  enabled 
fully  to  understand  "all  the  counsel  of  God," 
Jesus  left  them  in  comparative  ignorance.  But 
according  to  the  promise  which  had  been  given, 
they  afterwards  received  large  portions  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  and  proclaimed  upon  the  house- 
tops and  in  the  streets  the  glad  tidings  of  a  per- 
fect Gospel,  and  the  blessings  of  a  free  and  uni- 
versal salvation. 


UNIVERSALIST  RELIEF.  209 

In  the  course  of  our  Savior's  ministry  on 
earth,  however,  he  was  particularly  questioned 
in  regard  to  his  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  The 
Sadducees,  who  utterly  denied  man's  future  life, 
as  well  as  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits, 
thought  to  puzzle  him  by  referring  to  the  case  of 
a  certain  woman  who  had  been  the  wife  of  seven 
husbands,  and  demanding  whose  wife  she  should 
be  in  the  resurrection.  Here  there  can  be  no 
mistake  as  to  the  subject  of  discourse.  It  was 
the  state  of  man  beyond  death  of  which  the  cap- 
tious Sadducees  inquired.  Their  question  fully 
admitted  the  doctrine  of  life  and  immortality,  and 
in  view  of  this  admission,  they  insisted  upon 
knowing  to  which  one  of  her  husbands  the  de- 
parted woman  should  be  wedded.  Notwithstand- 
ing this  query  betrayed  their  entire  ignorance  of 
the  whole  subject — of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the 
power  of  God — it  afforded  a  fit  opportunity  for 
our  Lord  to  declare  his  doctrine  touching  the  im- 
mortal life.  *'  And  Jesus  answering  said  unto 
them,  (he  children  of  this  world  marry,  and  are 
given  in  marriage  :  But  they  which  shall  be  ac- 
counted worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  re- 
surrection from  the  dead,  neither  marry,  nor  are 
given  in  marriage  :  Neither  can  they  die  any 
more :  for  they  are  equal  unto  the  angels  ;  and 
are  the  children  of  God,  being  the  children  of 
18* 


210  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

the  resurrection.  Now  that  the  dead  are  raised, 
even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,  when  he  calleth 
the  Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of 
Isaac,  and  tlie  God  of  Jacob.  For  he  is  not  a  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living  ;  for  all  live  unto 
him." 

There  are  several  things  contained  in  this  an- 
swer of  our  Lord  that  deserve  to  be  particularly 
noticed.  1.  By  such  as  shall  obtain  that  world 
of  which  he  speaks,  he  evidently  means  all  who 
shall  be  raised  from  the  dead  into  the  immortal 
state  of  existence.  He  speaks  of  such  as  sliall 
obtain  that  world  and  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  What  he  says  of  one  subject  or  child  of 
the  resurrection,  may  therefore  be  said  of  all  2. 
It  is  not  said  that  any  man  ever  was  or  ever  will 
be,  reall  y  worthy  of  the  resurrection  to  heavenly 
and  divine  life.  But  the  answer  treats  of  such 
as  shall  thus  be  accounted.  7"'he  Pharisees  be- 
lieved that  but  a  part  of  the  human  race  would  be 
raised  from  the  dead.  It  was  perhaps  in  view  o 
this  notion  that  our  Lord  spoke  of  such  as  shall  be 
accounted  worthy,  or  ''honored,  to  share  in  the 
resurrection,"  as  Dr.  Campbell  has  translated 
the  passage.  3.  But  the  answer  before  us  shows 
that  all  men  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead  ;  and 
the  fact  is  abundantly  proved  in  other  parts  of 
the    New   Testament.     We   have  seen  that  in 


UMVER5ALIST  BELIEF.  211 

view  or  the  resurrection,  Jesus  declares  of"  the 
Father  of  spirits,"  "  For  he  is  not  a  God  of  the 
dead,  but  of  the  living  ;  for  all  live  unto  him." 
All,  therefore,  shall  be  accounted  worthy  to  ob- 
tain the  resurrection  from  the  dead  and  the  future 
world.  4.  The  continuance  of  man's  existence 
beyond  the  death  of  the  body  was  shown  b}^  Mo- 
ses at  the  bush,  when  he  called  the  Deity  the 
God  of  persons  who  had  passed  away  from  this 
world.  The  patriarchs  of  whom  he  spoke  were 
still  in  existence  ;  for  the  Lord,  who  was  still 
their  God,  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead.  But  this 
proof  of  future  life  was  not  well  understood  until 
explained  by  our  Savior.  Hence  it  is  said  that 
,Tesus  Christ  '*  hath  brought  life  and  immortality 
TO  LIGHT  through  the  Gospel.'''  And  5.  The 
CONDITION  in  which  man  shall  be  raised  from 
the  dead  is  also  most  clearly  taught  in  the  answei" 
of  our  Lord  to  the  Sadducees.  He  declares  that 
the  subjects  of  the  resurrection  shall  be  the  child- 
ren of  God,  free  from  the  power  of  death,  and 
equal  unto  the  angels.  Such  is  the  condition  in 
which  man  shall  live  when  raised  to  immortality. 
And  hence  it  is  truly  said,  *^  The  last  enemy 
shall  be  destroyed,  death."  No  foe  will  remain 
after  the  final  resurrection  of  the  human  family. 
And  while  Jesus  the  Savior  of  the  world,  "shall 
see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satis- 


212  UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

fied,"  God  Iiimself,  rejoicing  in  his  works,  shall 

be  "  ALL  IN  ALL." 

Concerning  the  subject  of  which  Paul  treats 
in  1st  Cor.  xv.,  there  is  no  difference  of  belief. 
All  agree  that  his  subject  is  the  resurrection  of 
man  into  the  future  and  immortal  state.  His 
testimony  perfecty  coincides  with  that  of  our 
Savior  on  the  same  subject.  And  it  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that  in  his  extended  discourse  on  this 
subject — the  longest  and  fullest  contained  in  the 
whole  Bible — he  says  nothing  about  judgment., 
and  speaks  of  no  suffering  !  He  contemplates 
the  same  happy  and  glorious  end  for  ail  men  : 
and  declares  that  our  whole  race  shall  be  made 
alive  and  blessed  in  the  same  Redeemer  and 
Lord.  After  asserting  and  proving  the  resur- 
rection of  our  Lord  by  a  "  great  cloud  of  witness- 
es," he  proceeds  to  say,  "  But  now  is  Christ 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits 
of  them  that  slept.  For  since  by  man  came 
death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive.  But  every  man  in  liis 
own  order :  Christ  the  frst4m\is ;  afterward 
they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.  Then 
comelh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered 
up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father;  when 
he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule  and  all  authority 


IMVERSALIST  BELIEF.  213 

und  power.  For  he  must  rei^^ii  till  he  iiatli  put  all 
enemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy  shall 
be  destroyed,  death.  For  he  hath  put  all  ene- 
mies under  his  feet.  But  when  he  saith,  all 
things  are  put  under  him,  it  is  manifest  that  he 
is  excepted  which  did  put  all  things  under  him. 
And  when  all  things  shall  be  subdued  unto  him, 
then  shall  the  Son  also  himself  he  subject  unto  him 
that  did  put  all  things  under  him,  that  God  may 
be  all  in  all.^^ 

Whatever  may  be  meant  by  the  order  of  time 
here  mentioned,  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  all  men 
are  finally  to  be  made  alive  in  Christ,  and  to  be- 
come subject  to  him  even  as  he  himself  will  be 
subject  unto  God.  And  it  is  furthermore  obvi- 
ous that  when  this  universal  subjugation  shall 
have  been  accomplished  through  *'  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world," 
there  will  be  no  foe  in  existence  to  torment  man, 
and  God  will  be  the  life  of  every  soul ! 

After  showing  that  the  animal  body,  which  is 
sown  in  corruption,  dishonor  and  weakness,  shall 
die  and  return  to  the  dust  from  which  it  was 
taken  ;  the  apostle  declares  that  man  shall  rise  in 
incorriiption,  in  glory ^  in  power,  and  in  "a 
spiritual  body y  And  he  speaks  not  only  of  an 
immortal  life  ;  but  of  an  existence  in  the  hea- 
venly  NATURE  OF  Jesus   Christ  !     Still    dis- 


214  UNTVERSALIST  BELIEF. 

conrsing  of  all  who  live  and  die  in  the  earthy 
nature  of  Adam,  and  with  no- intimation  that  he 
speaks  in  a  limited  sense,  he  says,  "  And  as  we 
have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  al- 
so bear  the  image  of  the  heavenlyy  He  de- 
clares that  "  we  shall  all  be  changed,"  raised 
incorruptible,"  and  "  put  on  immortality."  And 
when  all  shall  thus  be  delivered  from  the  power 
of  death,  and  made  alive  in  a  spiritual  body  and 
a  heavenly  nature,  the  last  enemy  will  be  de- 
stroyed, the  Messiah's  mediatorial  labors  will  be 
finished,  and  he  will  then  resign  his  kingdom  to 
the  Father,  "  that  God  may  be  all  in  all.''^ 

Such,  then,  will  be  .the  final  and  glorious  con- 
dition of  the  human  fajnily — of  all  who  belong 
to  the  race  of  Adam — and  such  will  be  the  ulti. 
mate  and  happy  result  of  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion through  him  who  is  the  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  and  "  the  savior  of  the  world." 
We  know  not  the  precise  time  when  man  shall 
be  exalted  to  the  bliss  of  immortality,  "  to  glorify 
God  and  fully  to  enjoy  him  forever" — we  ask. 
not  to  know.  Whether  he  is  to  rise  as  soon  as 
the  spirit  departs  from  the  cold  tenement  of  clay, 
or  at  some  more  distant  period,  is  with  us  a  mat- 
ter of  no  concern.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know 
that  he  whom  the  Father  sent  to  be  "  the  Savior 
of  the  world,"  who  has  declared  that  he  will  draw 


UNIVERSALIST  BELIEF.  215 

all  men  unto  himself,  and  assured  us  that  all 
shall  be  raised  from  the  dead  and  become  equal 
unto  the  angels,  will  finally  destroy  the  last 
enemy  of  man,  and  bring  all  into  the  same  sub- 
jedion  in  which  he  himself  will  bow  to  that 
"  God  who  is  the  Savior  of  all  meny 

In  view  of  this  great  and  glorious  consumma- 
tion of  the  economy  of  divine  grace  through  the 
Redeemer,  we  rest  satisfied,  and  rejoice  with  un- 
speakable joy.  And  in  conclusion  we  need  only 
say,  in  the  languaj^e  of  the  Methodist  Commen- 
tator, Clarke,  "  Thus  we  find,  that  the  salvation 
from  sin  here,  is  as  extensive  and  complete  as 
the  guilt  and  contamination  of  sin  ;  death  is 
conquered,  hell  disappointed,  the  devil  confound- 
ed, AND  SIN  TOTALLY  DESTROYED.  Here  is  glo- 
rying, to  Him  that  loved  us  and  washed  us 
from  our  sins  in  his  own  bloody  and  has  made 
us  kings  and  priests  unto  his  Father,  be  glory, 
and  dominion,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen ! 
Hallelujah!  The  Lord  God  omnipotent  reign- 
eth  !     Amen,  and  Amen." 


^7/r 


^:^2:7j^^  --ii^O. 


Vj 


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